Ethics, social justice and the challenges imposed by COVID-19

Abstract

In the face of a real possibility of public health calamity, together with a possible subsequent economic crisis, many reflections of an ethical background on public policies arise: should we establish flexible economic limits to combat the coronavirus? To what extent can we restrict freedom of assembly in the pandemic? Is it ethically acceptable to increase the risk of the most vulnerable group (the elderly, asthmatics, etc.) in favor of a better balance in the economy? The answer to these questions involves notions of ethics and politics that are often antagonistic. Based on the theories of renowned modern and contemporary philosophers - such as Rawls, Sandel, Mill, Adorno and Horkheimer - we propose a reflection on the concept of social justice in order to analyze the following question: after all, what foundation should we take to assess public actions as fair in times of pandemic?