COVID-19 and the Political Economy of Mass Hysteria
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Literature, History and Methods
3. Nocebo Effects and the Evolution of Mass Hysteria
3.1. Nocebo Effects
3.2. Mass Hysteria, Irrationality, Biases, and COVID-19
4. Discussion of Amplifiers and Attenuators of Mass Hysteria: Minimal State vs. Welfare State
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Age | Survival Rate |
---|---|
0–19 years | 99.997% |
20–49 years | 99.98% |
50–69 years | 99.5% |
70 + years | 94.6% |
Disease | Deaths 2019 in Mio. |
---|---|
Ischemic heart disease | 8.9 |
Stroke | 6.1 |
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 3.3 |
Lower respiratory infections | 2.6 |
Neonatal conditions | 2.0 |
Trachea, bronchus, lung cancers | 1.8 |
Alzheimer’s disease, other dementias | 1.6 |
Diarrheal diseases | 1.5 |
Diabetes mellitus | 1.4 |
Kidney diseases | 1.3 |
Factors Influencing the Evolution of Mass Hysteria | Minimal State | Modern Welfare State |
---|---|---|
Stress and anxiety reducing strategies | function freely | can be severely restricted |
Limits for produced harm | private property rights | insecure property rights |
Possibility of experimentation with alternative solutions | facilitates discovery of real threat | centralization and group think inhibit alternative approaches |
Politicized mass media | does not exist | likely to contribute to hysteria |
Negative information from authoritative source | can contribute, but state is not regarded as responsible for public health | regarded as responsible for public health, high authority |
Fear as a political factor | could be employed, but state power strictly limited | can be used to expand state power |
Costs of wrong health decisions | Limited possibility to pass costs onto third parties | Extensive possibility to pass costs onto third parties, incentive to exaggerate threat |
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Bagus, P.; Peña-Ramos, J.A.; Sánchez-Bayón, A. COVID-19 and the Political Economy of Mass Hysteria. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 1376. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041376
Bagus P, Peña-Ramos JA, Sánchez-Bayón A. COVID-19 and the Political Economy of Mass Hysteria. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(4):1376. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041376
Chicago/Turabian StyleBagus, Philipp, José Antonio Peña-Ramos, and Antonio Sánchez-Bayón. 2021. "COVID-19 and the Political Economy of Mass Hysteria" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 4: 1376. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041376