Chris and Melanie are joined by Zack Cooper of the American Enterprise Institute to discuss Mark Hannah's recent War on the Rocks article "Stop Declaring War on a Virus." They discuss why ubiquitous use of the war metaphor might affect how we deal with the coronavirus pandemic, if America's focus on defense is to blame for our less-than-stellar handling of the health crisis, and how political leaders can use the rhetorical framework of war to rapidly increase government power with little oversight. Chris explains why social distancing (at this point) doesn't violate libertarian principles, Zack denounces China's threat of economic retaliation if Australia continues to push for an investigation into the origins of the pandemic, and Melanie has some praise for the Commandant of the Marine Corps. 

 

Links

 

• Mark Hannah, "Stop Declaring War on a Virus," War on the Rocks, April 17, 2020
• Derrick Bryson Taylor, "Marine Corps Bans Public Display of Confederate Flag," April 23, 2020
• Rob Thompson, Tweets, April 1, 2020
• Rym Momtaz, "Inside Emmanuel Macron's Coronovirus War," Politico Europe, April 12, 2020
• Mary McCord, "Trump's 'LIBERATE MICHIGAN'" Tweets Incite Insurrection. That's Illegal," Washington Post, April 17, 2020, 
• Emily Nussbuam, Tweet, April 26, 2020
• Edward Wong, Tweet, April 27, 2020
• Aila Slisco, “Leader of North Carolina Protests Against Stay-at-Home Tests Positive for Coronavirus” Newsweek, April 27, 2020
• Pam Belluck, “32 Days on a Ventilator: One Covid Patient’s Fight to Breathe Again,” New York Times, April 26, 2020
• Mark Hannah and Caroline Gray, "Global Views of American Democracy," Eurasia Group Foundation, April 2020
• M. Tang et al., "The State of Southeast Asia: 2020," ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, 2020
• Amelia Lucas, “Kegs Are Going Bad As Coronavirus Keeps Restaurants Closed. Boston Beer Has a Solution,” CNBC, April 24, 2020