Reverse Healthism and Antiscience Healthism: New Modes of Healthism in the Misinformation and COVID-19 Era

This commentary considers how Robert Crawford's concept of healthism may be applied to the current conditions of misinformation, populist and libertarian politics and declining interest by governments, health authorities and citizens in controlling the COVID-19 crisis. In this latest pandemic phase, antiscience and antivaccination sentiment and distrust in 'big government' and public health measures have intensified across the globe. These changes have led to government by hollow states and the erosion of the social solidarity that is essential to successful public health interventions. Two new modes of healthism are identified and described as arising from these biopolitical conditions: reverse healthism and antiscience healthism.