This period of social distancing and restriction has been called many things, some of them printable. One of the most common has been a time of uncertainty. Business leaders and media columnists chafe at the uncertainty that attends lessening personal restrictions, opening shops, schools and workplaces and allowing travel. Uncertainty damages investment and other economic activity.
Uncertainty, however, is not an impediment to life which can be removed by clear and authoritative statements of dates to remove restrictions and get back to work. These may exude certainty, but it is fraudulent because they are based on uncertain assessments about COVID-19, its economic effects in Australia and elsewhere, and how people will respond in coming months. Our lack of sure knowledge condemns us to live in a state of uncertainty.
For all the pain associated with our current lack of certainty, it has brought many benefits to our public life. Instead of being limited to an exchange of hostile slogans, political leaders have admitted to lacking adequate knowledge about COVID-19, about how it may be treated, about its spread, about the extent of any immunity gained from exposure to it, and about whether and when a vaccine may be available. In the face of their lack of certainty governments have sought and made public most supported wisdom about the virus and based their decisions on that.
The experts on whose advice they have relied, too, have been honest about the uncertainties that accompany their advice. They rely on the experience of past epidemics, its correspondence with current experience of COVID-19, to gauge its likely extent and effects, and how best to mitigate them. Their advice and the readiness of governments to hear it have so far largely been vindicated by their results.
The crisis has shredded many unwarranted claims to certainty. People with varying degrees of expertise who claim to a certain knowledge that discredits other judgments simply seem shrill and self-important.
The limits of the human sciences, such as economics, have also been made clear. The idea that society is best served by allowing the markets free rein has been shattered as governments have given priority to the saving of human lives over economic growth. The economy has been seen to name very important human relationships, but not the most important. It serves human wellbeing.
'What matters now is personal truth — the coherence between words and life, the trustworthiness of those who