Laws, observed the sixth-century BC Scythian philosopher Anacharsis, are like cobwebs: strong enough to hold the weak but too weak to resist the strong. In a sobering affirmation of this maxim, recent weeks have seen America’s nationwide quarantine disintegrate. The moment of societal cohesion fostered by the Covid-19 pandemic disappeared under a surge of anger at the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. American policymakers’ response to thousands protesting in close proximity, disdaining the social-distancing guidelines that have dominated American life since mid-March, shows that they live in a cargo cult of public health: going through the motions, but without conviction or understanding.
