For once Michael you hit the nail on the head. You very eloquently demonstrate why the worst countries for Covid-19 cases and deaths are exactly those beacons of democratic neoliberalism where liberty equates with freedom to infect others, where the basic rules of public health, or even common good have been jettisoned for the sake of the free market for the rich. No, we should look at China and take from there what is good and discard what is bad. WE do not need to copy Tiananmen Square tactics to be able to deal with a pandemic. Anyway if you don’t like China, what about New Zealand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and to a lesser extent Australia and Japan?

The principles here simplistically boil down to what is the value of human life versus money (dare I say, socialism or social awareness, vs capitalism and self-centred selfishness). And in eastern cultures there is still reverence and consideration and respect for older people and general better respect for others; it is not all about repression you know.