Here's Why Covid Measures Are Jeopardising the Future of Free and Open Societies

A free and open society is a delicate achievement, and certainly not one to be taken for granted. There are relatively few times and places in history when people of different religions, ethnic origins, political ideals, and cultures have managed to share the same social space, the same government, and the same broad legitimating narrative. Much more frequently, people have been bound together into tight-knit social enclaves or tribal groups, with limited openness to rival groups and cultures, and not infrequently, have adopted attitudes of distrust and animosity toward outsiders.

The achievement of an “open society,” in which different forms of life, religions, and political ideologies coexist under a shared political constitution, freely adhered to by most citizens, requires a shared perception that the terms of social cooperation are reasonably inclusive and impartial, rather than rigged in favour of a particular social class, or against a particular category of persons.

Iraq is a…