Privatized Liberty, Socialized Risk
Privatized Liberty, Socialized Risk
We have entered an era of freedom without invoices. One side of the political spectrum loudly demands the right to make its own choices—then expects someone else to cover the cost when those choices go wrong.
There was a time when limited government came packaged with personal responsibility. Your choices were your own, but so were the consequences. If you wanted the government out of your way, you navigated the road alone. That bargain has been broken.
The Pandemic as Case Study
The pandemic illustrated this incoherence perfectly—not as a matter of science, but of logic. We faced a novel virus with imperfect information, a classic risk scenario. When vaccines arrived, they offered not a guarantee against infection, but a substantial reduction in the likelihood of hospitalization and death.
In a free market, declining that protection is an individual right. But a free market also prices risk. Insurance companies, motivated by profit rather than politics, have long charged higher premiums for smoking, obesity, and driving without a seatbelt. Left to their own devices, actuaries would simply assign a higher premium to those who chose to face a global pathogen without a shield.
To a believer in free enterprise, this isn't punishment. It's the healthy pursuit of profit. If you choose to ride a motorcycle without a helmet and crash, you are free to do so—but your payout should differ from the driver in the Volvo.
The Hypocrisy
Yet that isn't what happened. We saw a strange spectacle: loud proclamations of "freedom" and "choice," followed immediately by demands for protection when the bill came due.
I fully support those who wish to opt out of societal safety measures. Attend work, leisure events, religious services—take your chances. But if you face the triple whammy of expensive hospital stays, lost wages, and long-term disability, you must own that outcome.
If a risk-taker ends up behind on rent or drowning in medical debt, why should the government impose forbearance on landlords and creditors? Why should a mortgage holder suffer for another person's gamble? That is government overreach. It is an affront to free enterprise. It makes a mockery of personal responsibility.
You cannot demand the government stay out of the boardroom, but rush into the emergency room to pick up your tab.
The Arithmetic of Freedom
This isn't a left-right argument. It's an accounting problem. True liberty is not merely the right to choose; it is the obligation to pay for the choice you made.
Freedom comes with an invoice. If you're unwilling to pay it, you're not a champion of liberty. You're just looking for a free ride.