Can a Libertarian Tolerate Shutdowns?

If you purport to be a libertarian, can you tolerate the coronavirus shutdowns?  The answer depends on the breadth of the shutdowns.

The basic libertarian philosophy is that individuals should be free to act as they wish, so long as their actions don't adversely affect the health or safety of others. That means governmental action should be limited to protecting health and safety.   The shutdowns are intended to protect public health. Therefore they're okay, right?

Yes, but there are limits.  First, there must be a real health problem; government can't use the "health problem" excuse to justify regulatory action.  Second, the scope of the governmental action can't exceed what is necessary to deal with the problem. Third, the severity of the governmental action must be commensurate with the severity of the health problem; no using a hammer to kill a fly. Finally, the duration of the governmental action must be limited to the duration of the problem; the action should have sunset limits.

As the data concerning the coronavirus pandemic pours in, it has become clear that government overestimated the severity of the problem.  Like all of us, government can make mistakes. The political problem is that polticians hate to admit them. Can you imagine Mr. Trump or Mr. Cuomo publicly saying "In hindsight, I didn't accurately weigh the potential adverse effects of the pandemic against the potential harm that would result from the shutdowns.  I don't think I was irresponsible, but as it turned out, I was wrong.  I take responsibility for that."

Of course not. They'll say things like "I relied on the science," or "it was the other guy's fault." So rather than promptly adjusting governmental action to accord with the newly found data, they'll continue doing the wrong thing for as long as it takes to justify their mistakes. And we'll all suffer as a result.

As you approach one end of the spectrum, libertarianism transitions into anarchism. It's important not to let your disgust with government action on the pandemic turn into rejecting virtually everything government does.   Rather, speak up about the mistakes, hold the politicians responsible for their actions and stay true to your principles.