Local Knowledge is Key to Combating Pandemic
Epidemiological knowledge of the virus and local knowledge of circumstances complement each other
In his seminal 1945 article, The Use of Knowledge in Society, the classical liberal economist Friedrich Hayek aptly described the local knowledge problem. Hayek articulated the commonsense observation that the circumstantial knowledge needed for rational decision making is distributed locally among individual actors and thus is inaccessible to any central planner. He noted, “[P]ractically every individual has some advantage over all others because he possesses unique information of which beneficial use might be made, but of which use can be made only if the decisions depending on it are left to him.” It would behoove state government officials to maximize the use of local knowledge as they begin to lift restrictions initially imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19. Unfortunately, many officials are choosing to quash the use of such particularized knowledge in favor of misguided central planning.
Certainly, it is appropriate for government officials to work with public health experts to advise individuals of actions they should take to protect themselves and others from illness, such as maintaining physical distancing, wearing face coverings, and practicing personal hygiene. However, knowledge of the characteristics of specific communities is just as important in reducing the spread of the coronavirus as is scientific knowledge. An epidemiologist may understand the methods of communicable disease spread, but he or she cannot know how any given community works, shops, interacts, engages in recreation, or operates businesses. This latter type of knowledge, the knowledge of particular circumstances, only exists locally among members of communities and is essential to combating this public health crisis. Epidemiological knowledge of the virus and local knowledge of circumstances complement each other, but the latter has been largely disregarded in state governments’ responses to the pandemic.
The local knowledge problem recognizes that it is impossible for a central authority in a state capital to possess all of the local circumstantial knowledge needed to make informed decisions for an entire state. As such, it is misguided for state governments to impose one-size-fits-all rules and restrictions on businesses and individuals. Even as states begin to ease COVID-19-related restrictions, many governors are implementing top-down reopening plans that severely limit local decision making in favor of uniform rules dictating when and how businesses and public spaces can reopen.
Hayek rightly asserted that “ultimate decisions must be left to the people who are familiar with these [local] circumstances, who know directly of the relevant changes and of the resources immediately available to meet them.” However, a state governor and his or her advisors cannot possibly know, for instance, how members of any given community use public spaces or how any given business has the means to implement physical distancing and other measures to protect employees and customers. Nor do they have immediate access to knowledge of changing circumstances, such as COVID-19 infection trends, within any individual community. It is those living and working in the communities, not governors, who possess this knowledge. Thus, local governments and business owners should be able to work cooperatively to implement locally based best practices, rather than be subject to the blanket dictates of a governor.
In an observation that is no less true today than it was 75 years ago when The Use of Knowledge in Society was published, Hayek acknowledged that “it is almost heresy to suggest that scientific knowledge is not the sum of all knowledge.” This sentiment rings particularly true during the current health crisis as central planners in state houses express disdain for complementing scientific knowledge with equally pertinent knowledge of specific communities. Rather than double down on centralized decision making, governors and bureaucrats would be well advised to step back and allow communities to fully leverage local circumstantial knowledge to effectively address the threat of COVID-19. Our health, our economic well-being, and our liberty depend on it.
