The biggest danger of large systems with top-down governance is in the single point of failure at the top.

The W.H.O. is a good example of this. Early on they denied #Covid19 was an aerosolized airborne virus. They advised against masks and told us to wash our hands instead. However this information was not based upon science, but politics.

The W.H.O. feared a shortage of masks for medical workers. Plus under their own rules, those medical facilities unable to fulfill the regulations for airborne infections would not be allowed to treat patients. Improvisation would've been out of the question as it would've threatened their current role in the world order and meant a loss of control for them.

So instead of thinking out of the box and seeking creative solutions the W.H.O. simply lied to the whole world.

Had they not been such a bureaucratic and corrupt juggernaut they could've harnessed the common sense of those who live not in theory, but in reality. Masks and PPE equipment are not rocket science. They need not be of a strict medical grade to be effective. Industry can be incentivized to adapt quickly and improvise equipment.

Their arrogance resulted in untold numbers of needless deaths and economic devastation.

Unfortunately with so much faith placed upon numbers and theory, access to the genius of the hive mind is lost. Had our own government not relied solely upon a handful of experts, they could have searched for answers not from the top down but sideways from sister countries like Taiwan.

Like the UK, Taiwan is a densely populated, democratic country off the coast of China. Like the UK they are an international hub. Unlike the 46,229 dead in the UK, Taiwan has seen a total of just 7 deaths since the start of the pandemic. They didn't have to go into lockdown. Their economy is doing fine.

Taiwan was excluded from the WHO club due to political pressure from China. It turns out, this exclusion was a blessing. They ignored the fake W.H.O. Fake news and put masks at the core of the anti-Covid strategy.

I can excuse our government being snowflakes and hiding behind experts the first time around. But it's been nearly a year, haven't they learned anything?

Some will argue that culturally the UK is not like Taiwan therefore could never get the same degree of co-operation from their citizens. But this is the type of calcified reasoning we can expect from insular boys clubs who love the type of top-down style of governance they learned on the playing fields of Eaton.

If they looked past their own limited rugby grounds, they could harness the market and incentivize businesses to tackle the pandemic. Instead of blanket lockdowns, why not allow those who can demonstrate a safe environment stay open? Why should the innovative businessperson who provided adequate ventilation, free masks, and cleverly adapted their shops be penalized with exactly the same lockdowns as their competitor who did absolutely nothing?

C'mon ya mumbling, bumbling Tory toffs, I thought you were big tough capitalists? Get the market to beat Covid if you think you're so hard.

Time to leave the comfort of your tiny playing field.