Facemasks Become Political Flashpoint
June 21, 2020
Even as wearing face masks to help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus gains scientific support, some people resist them, believing that “masks symbolize government overreach and a violation of personal liberty,” the Washington Post reports. Such conflict isn’t new. In Issues, a philosopher examined how negative opinions about vaccinations, climate change, and genetic engineering often bypass science and reflect deeper disagreements about the meaning of risk, the role of expertise in a democracy, and the power of economic forces, and he offered suggestions for overcoming such stalemates.