Joshua Mitchell: "Beware of the gentle despot who wants to protect us from death at all costs"

LE FIGARO. - You weigh the risks, in a recent article, of social distancing, and you wonder if democracy will survive a practice which now affects more than 3 billion people. What are you afraid of?

Joshua MITCHELL. - Today we have a very fragmented notion of what democracy is. We say that a nation is democratic if the vote is conducted in a fair and just manner, and if people are represented. But voting and representation, important as they are, are not enough to ensure the good health of democracy. There must be a spirit of democracy, which can only be developed and maintained if citizens, in their daily lives, work every day to build a world with their compatriots. From this point of view, "social distancing" is the great enemy of the spirit of democracy. I understand the immediate need for "social distancing" to prevent the coronavirus from spreading, but

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