Legitimating Pandemic-Responsive Policy: Whose Voices Count When?

A democratic principle holds that, other things being equal, public support for a policy can contribute to the legitimation of that policy’s imposition. This chapter focuses on some cases in which ‘other things’ are not ‘equal’: cases in which the attitude to others’ choice or the attitude to others’ suffering demonstrated by a person’s or group’s support for a policy undermines the legitimating force of their support. I focus on the implications for the imposition or lifting of lockdowns