Are we meekly surrendering our freedom? (Debate)

Sat 16 Jan 2021, 12:59

On my morning walk, I pass the occasional window which has a notice which (roughly) reads, " when this is over, they will ask, why did they give up their freedom so easily?"  A pertinent question which keeps me pondering till I get home. The current restrictions on our liberty are unparalleled in this country and are more akin to Soviet communism or South African Apartheid. Why do they not disturb me more?

There are two justifications for them. One is straight from John Stuart Mill: " "the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others" I doubt whether Mill contemplated a situation where the mere fact of breathing would cause harm to others but- assuming you accept the science (and I'm not engaging with those who don't)-  the principle has direct application.

Secondly, and derived from the first principle, restrictions on liberty are justified in the national interest in times of extreme peril or emergency to safeguard the community as a whole. War is the obvious example and the Covid crisis is analogous.

Having satisfied myself (if not others),  I am pleased the issues are being aired. Boris's faults are legion but he is a bumbling libertarian who enjoys breaking rules and I don't see him as a natural despot. Others  however, could use the current draconian regulatory framework as a precedent. We need, of course, eternal vigilance.

For me, the most dangerous attacks on British freedom come when they are directed against minorities. The insidious and malignant "othering" , over the last twenty years, of black and ethnic minorities, aided and abetted by newspapers like the Mail and the Express have culminated in genuine oppression of which we should ALL be ashamed.  For the Home Office to have a formal policy -" the climate of hostility"- towards certain law abiding groups in this country, including citizens, is a step towards the Nazis' yellow star for Jews and should have brought us all out on the street.  Those are the real attacks on British freedom.