Mask politics and contrasting conceptions of freedom

by Capucine May | 17th October 2020 | Featured, Politics

As tensions rise across the world over governments’ differing approaches to dealing with COVID-19, the author argues that cultural differences between Western and Asian societies could explain the contrast in their reactions over mask policies. She proposes that individuals in the West should take this as an opportunity to remember that “a functional nation requires individual sacrifice” and Westerners should work to “rebuild our sense of community before we are required to make even larger sacrifices for it in the future.”