From Tom Woods: Coming: my dagger through the heart of COVID hysteria
| Well, folks, I’m doing it. I kept saying: we need a quiz, where people look at charts of deaths or hospitalizations and without knowing which state is which, choose which line they think corresponds with which state. And every time, they’ll be wrong. The point of the quiz is: none of these interventions seem to have done a bit of good, since it’s impossible to tell which state did what by looking at the charts — and if these disruptions of our lives were justified, we’d darn well better be able to see it on the charts. For example, one of the quiz items might say something like this: One of the lines on this chart represents a state that imposed the earliest mask mandate and had such-and-such policy on business closures and restrictions. The other line represents a state that had no mandate, and lighter restrictions. Can you tell which is which? And so on, over and over. Or: We’re told that masks are very effective against the virus. So: can you pinpoint on this chart for country X when you think the mask mandate went into effect? The results are all random, of course. As soon as this is ready, I’ll let you know. I bought the domain CovidChartQuiz dot com for this purpose. Now let me address a recent critic, who wonders: why does Woods focus so much on the charts? Even if the charts showed the opposite, the principle is the same! Freedom! He should say that! Well, here’s how I think: I favor using the argument that is most likely to work. I am convinced that I am vastly more likely to get people to think by showing them that the sacrifices they have been asked to make haven’t made a whit of difference, and that the people recommending them are therefore not worth listening to, than I am in any other way. The situation is precisely analogous to the arguments against the minimum wage. Sure, I could simply say that employers have the right to pay whatever wage people agree to and just leave it at that. And I will make zero progress with anyone. But if I say that the minimum wage was introduced to benefit certain preferred groups at the expense of despised groups, that it makes it difficult for people with no experience to get a start, that state regulation is not actually how wages rise, and that very few people earn the minimum wage anyway (especially over time), I am much more likely to be heard. Anyway: Our friend Dave Smith, the talented and heroic host of Part of the Problem, has been excellent on the issue of vaccine passports and how important it is for us to get this right. I was so delighted to feature him on the Tom Woods Show last week that I made a rare video edition of the show (though of course most people listen via audio-only podcast apps). Enjoy: http://www.tomwoods.com/passports One more thing: our good friends at Rocket Languages (one of the founders is in fact a friend of mine) are taking 60% off just the next 15 foreign language courses they sell. Our daughter Regina has their Japanese course, and I hear nothing but good things from my listeners. If you’re interested, grab one before that number hits zero: http://www.tomwoods.com/rocket Tom Woods |
There is a demand for more sacrifice, and sacrifice, and sacrifice.
But there is no reduction in the spread of COVID, and no decline from the low death rates.
There is no predictable, actionable difference between massive restrictions and no restrictions in the spread of COVID.
(Well: arguably, there are strong benefits from not forcing public restrictions on the public. Benefits tied directly to health, as well as indirectly tied to health: i.e. receiving pay for work, human contact, liberty, etc.)
And when I say low death rate, I mean low. Do the foot work, and compare COVID death rates with cancer, or car accidents, or heart disease.
Take a look at the national fatality tables, and see if you can spot the additional deaths in the “plague year” of 2020, compared to 2019, or 2018, or 2017…
The plague is far more hype than reality: and to the extent it is real, it primarily is a danger for the old and the sickly, not the vast majority of the population.
And it would benefit the old and the sickly, as well as the majority, to end the cried for endless COVID sacrifices.
Pointless COVID sacrifices.
Acrosss the Stars 