One of the hottest takes currently circulating the internet is that the coronavirus pandemic has eliminated all of the libertarians — an outcome perhaps most surprising to those of us who are libertarian and still exist. Metaphysical riddles aside, the prevalent view that America’s COVID-19 crisis has rendered libertarianism inutile suffers from myriad errors. Most important (and annoying) is that it seems not to understand what libertarianism actually is and what its ideal response to a global pandemic might be. Even odder, it ignores the many ways that American society has become more, not less, libertarian in recent weeks.

On a basic level, libertarianism is the view “that each person has the right to live his life in any way he chooses so long as he respects the equal rights of others,” in the words of Cato Institute Vice President David Boaz. Implicit in even this simple definition are two key points that critics seem not to grasp. First, while libertarians highly value economic and social freedom, they also recognize its limits and therefore oppose human actions that directly harm others. Second, and because of the first, mainstream libertarians see government action as necessary to protect individuals’ natural rights (pre-government rights such as a right to life, liberty, and property) and allowed in (albeit rare) cases of legitimate “market failure.” At the same time, libertarians understand that governments are composed of fallible and corruptible human beings and, when combined with a license to use force or the threat thereof, have the potential to commit idiocy at best and grievous injury at worst. As such, libertarians believe government action requires strict limits, skepticism, and scrutiny, leaving the remaining joys and necessities of life to the things better suited to deliver them: markets, states and localities, civil society, and individuals. Such ideals are embodied in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.