Will the Coronavirus Amplify the Role of the Government in the Economy?
A defining phenomenon for virtually the last hundred years is the expansion of state influence in all areas. The extreme was reached in the communist and fascist countries, where, under dictatorship, all freedoms were altered. In Western democracies, freedoms made progress, but the struggle between governments and markets to play the central role in managing the economy has sometimes resulted in serious disruptions of market freedom. The alteration occurred due to serious economic difficulties. The drastic limitation of the freedom of financial markets after the crisis of 1929-1933 is known. More recently, the economic and social difficulties that emerged after 2008 have been used by governments to limit the freedom of financial markets and to increase the state’s role in managing the economy. Will a severe recession caused by the coronavirus be an opportunity for a renewed strengthening of this trend? The concern for the principle of market freedom contained in this question could be seen as injudicious, as the functioning of the society seems to be dictated by the rapid resolution of various situations that appear to us as urgent. However, neglecting the principles in decision-making could be a way that may go unnoticed of moving to a type of society that we do not want. More
