I analyse emergency policy-making in three circumstances: the sovereign debt crisis of 2011, the Covid crisis of 2020, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine of 2022. Decisions taken under the influence of fear are the least inclined to progressive principles and participatory democracy.
From the pandemic to the Ukrainian war, policy decisions have resulted in de-facto regressive taxation. Support is gained by qualifying diverging opinions as the enemy’s. Instead, governments should implement significant redistribution plans.
The benefits of the lockdown are non-monetary because they concern public health. However, some long-run costs of health policies are appearing. I analyse why inflation descends from these.