Novel externalities.

Area of Science:

• Political Economy
• Public Health Policy
• International Relations

Background:

• Novel externalities, characterized by unknown spillover costs or benefits, have gained prominence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• These events challenge the efficacy of liberal political economy in managing public emergencies.
• Authoritarian regimes are often presented as alternatives for handling such crises.

Purpose of the Study:

• To re-evaluate classical political economy in the context of modern state responses to infectious diseases.
• To defend the comparative effectiveness of liberal democracy over authoritarian alternatives in addressing novel externalities.
• To explore the role of epistemic capacities in managing public emergencies.

Main Methods:

• Re-reading of classical political economy principles.
• Analysis of modern state confrontations with infectious diseases.
• Comparative assessment of liberal democratic and authoritarian approaches.

Main Results:

• Liberal democracies possess inherent advantages in managing novel externalities due to their epistemic capacities.
• Effective responses rely on trustworthy public information and an independent scientific community for validation and interpretation.
• Polycentrism and self-governance enhance accountability and facilitate effective national policy in liberal democratic regimes.

Conclusions:

• Liberal democratic regimes are comparatively more effective than authoritarian alternatives in coping with novel externalities and public emergencies.
• The strengths of liberal democracies lie in their independent civil society, multiple power sources, and academic freedom, fostering essential epistemic capacities.
• Polycentrism and self-governance are crucial for developing robust national policies to address complex societal challenges.