The pandemic has created a series of practical and policy challenges for the entities and individuals deemed responsible for public health and welfare.¹ The way in which those challenges have been approached reveals the assumptions that underlie the allocation of social welfare responsibility in a society. Of particular interest are the norms or standards and values governing the relationship between the individual and the state and its institutions. These norms historically reflect the distinction between what is considered appropriately of “public” concern and what is deemed primarily a “private” matter. This line between the public and the private serves to allocate responsibility, with private matters often being assign as an individual or personal responsibility. Our understanding of the private also enhances the concept of individual rights as constituting necessary bulwarks against perceived inappropriate or invasive state action. At the same time, the construction of the private constrains notions of collective welfare and responsibility.

中文翻译：

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人口、流行病和政治

大流行给被视为负责公共卫生和福利的实体和个人带来了一系列实际和政策挑战。¹应对这些挑战的方式揭示了作为社会福利责任分配基础的假设。特别感兴趣的是规范个人与国家及其机构之间关系的规范或标准和价值观。这些规范在历史上反映了被认为是“公共”关注的适当问题与主要被认为是“私人”问题之间的区别。公共和私人之间的这条线用于分配责任，私人事务通常被分配为个人或个人责任。我们对私人的理解也增强了个人权利的概念，将个人权利视为构成抵御不适当或侵入性国家行为的必要堡垒。同时，