The consequences of loyalty

When rules and consequences clash, we had better weigh up carefully what matters most

When a pandemic is wreaking havoc, and many hundreds of people are killed by a virus every day, it is important that the population as a whole takes sufficient precautions to slow down its exponential spread. Self-interest may not be sufficient to ensure the right behaviours are widely adopted. So, governments tend to impose rules that transcend people’s conventional decision-making approach in which they weigh up the costs and the benefits of a decision.

In essence, a rule removes the burden of having to work out the trade-off: Just Do (or Do Not Do) This (or That) Thing. Laws, religious prescriptions, and social conventions are full of them: we drive on the correct side of the road, do not covet our neighbour’s ass, and, unless we are a life guard, we don’t go to work in a swimsuit. And during a pandemic, when the government says “Stay at home” that is what we do.

However, such rules may come into conflict with other concerns at some point. When I wrote about this a few weeks ago, I discussed the potential for behavioural fatigue and alluded to the fate of the Scottish Chief Medical Officer who had had to resign for breaking the terms of the lockdown. I had no idea that in the weeks to come…