How could a very specific and unlikely killer virus like the swine flu – believed to have afflicted almost 13,000 people worldwide within two months compared to more than 15 million deaths every year from all infectious diseases – have sparked a global panic? Two arguments are brought to light, namely the so called fear factor and the news factor. Contrary to the SARS epidemic in China, the Mexican government didn’t try to withhold information from the world public and instead acted according to the principle of risk aversion: Without knowing the effects of the measures taken to prevent transmissions, the Mexican health management allowed the WHO and national governments to consider further steps – entailing panic pyramid (over-)reactions.
The swine flu panic – an underestimated threat?
Mai 31st, 2009 | 0 comments | permalink
Unwise worries about moral wisdom
Mai 13th, 2009 | 0 comments | permalink
Referring back to President Obama’s rhetorical appeal to civic virtue during the 2008 election compaign, Barry Schwartz calls for a revival of morality in public life. As social contexts are changing in modern societies, formal job profiles and directives of welfare departments would only present suboptimal procedures for human interactions. Instead, there would be a demand for acting upon moral values, such as responsibility and respect. For instance, a survey conducted in Switzerland proved that the interviewees would be more likely to carry social and ecological burdens if they were not to be rewarded by higher salaries.