The Italian philosopher, Giorgio Agamben, was the first to lodge a philosophical protest against the restrictions placed on social life on account of COVID-19. A prolific thinker and writer, he is best known for writing about unilateral state power (State of Exception), bio-politics (The Social and Political Power over Life), issues of sacredness and sovereignty.
Agamben started the philosophical exchange (which has now been archived here) in late-February through his article, The Invention of an Epidemic, on the Italian site, Quodlibet. In it, he complained that the government is “provoking an authentic state of exception,” and employing a “disproportionate response,” against what appeared then to be “a sort of influenza.” Incidentally, in the State of Exception, one of Agamben’s books, he developed a theory about the suspension of the rule of law under the pretext of “national security” or “extenuating” circumstances.
In the early days of the pandemic, even in Italy, one could be alarmed by what appeared to be draconian measures at curbing freedoms over a flu-like illness. Given Agamben’s stature, other philosophers and thinkers responded to his article with a sense of indulgence.
But as days passed, in the face of the progressively worsening situation in Italy, most of the respondents had no real grouse against the government’s steps aimed at keeping the virus in check. They could see the damage caused by the virus and hence did not share Agamben’s initial response.
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