Covid policy and the politics of fear and misunderstanding

Morris Altman, Hannah Altman and Louise Lamontagne

Chapter 2 in How to Manage Covid-19 and Other Pandemics, 2026, pp 15-26 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter explores how fear and misinformation influenced Covid-19 policy decisions, often leading to extreme lockdowns. We argue that political and media narratives exaggerated the risks of soft policies, creating a climate in which decision-makers felt compelled to enforce strict measures. We examine the role of experts, herd mentality, and public trust in shaping pandemic responses and highlight how dissenting perspectives were often dismissed or suppressed in certain countries. The chapter scrutinizes the influential Ferguson Report and its reliance on questionable assumptions, which predicted that without strict lockdowns there would be catastrophic death tolls. Notably, countries that resisted this alarmist approach and adopted more balanced, evidence-based policies often fared just as well or better than those with more severe restrictions. This leads us to stress the importance of maintaining open debate, democratic decision-making, and continuous critical evaluation of expert advice when shaping future pandemic responses.

Keywords: Fear-based Policies; Government Overreach; Misinformation; Covid-19 Narratives; Critical Thinking; Democratic Discourse (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781802204421
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