August 22, 2021 4:05PM # Analyzing Vaccine Mandates from a Libertarian Perspective By [Robert A. Levy](https://www.cato.org/people/robert-levy) --- SHARE At The Hill, I’ve written an op-ed that explores, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, what a libertarian position on vaccine mandates ought to be. Of course, there are many questions one needs to answer to draw a philosophically consistent conclusion. As I explain: > Here’s the controversy: If the vaccine causes no appreciable injury, can you still refuse to be injected, notwithstanding that you might be visiting significant risks on others? > > It’s a close call. Even those who resist government intervention in private matters will endorse rules that bar some persons from violating the rights of others. > > > Ordinarily, those rules ban or limit harm-inducing activities. Occasionally, however, advocates of limited government will condone directives to engage in benign activities (even when not cost-free) if failure to do so might cause injury to innocent bystanders. And some pertinent questions: > How much increased risk do I have to endure before your potentially malign failure to act can be redressed? When rights theory doesn’t provide adequate guidance, defenders of liberty often look to utilitarian, cost-benefit tradeoffs. In the context of the vaccine, here are a few relevant factors … > > > … First, how safe is the mandated act? … Second, what’s the magnitude and frequency of an injury that could occur without a mandate? … Third, can we be sure that a vaccine mandate will remedy the problem? … Fourth, are there remedies available that are less intrusive than a vaccine mandate? … Finally, what peripheral concerns need to be addressed before implementing compulsory injections? I address these questions in detail, ultimately concluding that: > “Those are crucial questions, which should be examined before embarking on a program that encroaches on personal autonomy. And yet, we are in the midst of a health emergency, which means that suitably modified, narrowly-tailored, time-limited rules may be justified.” You can read the full piece over at The Hill [here](https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/civil-rights/568492-vaccine-mandates-a-liberty-minded-perspective). ##### Related Tags [Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics), [COVID-19](https://www.cato.org/covid-19) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).