Social Distancing and Human Flourishing

In order to manage the COVID-19 threat, states and municipalities across the nation have required their citizens to “stay at home” and “shelter in place.” To ensure compliance with these directives, authorities have also ordered the closure of millions of businesses and other services. As these closures were implemented in region after region, a general pattern emerged. To prevent individuals from congregating in large groups, authorities first restricted access to centers of learning and houses of worship. Then they asked offices, restaurants, and places of entertainment to close. Finally, they ordered barber shops, gyms, and other so-called “non-essential” entities to cease operations, leaving open only select businesses, including grocery stores, pharmacies, and banks.