Interviewer: Aly Kamadia is the Editor-In-Chief of iDose

Interviewee: Dr. Christian W. McMillen is Professor and Associate Dean for the Social Sciences at the University of Virginia

Political leaders love to shower praises about the importance of learning history. Whether explicit or alluding to its importance in their rhetoric, they’re all too often guilty of never having engaged with history themselves. And the consequences of their ignorance can lead to needless suffering.

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) that is set to infect tens of millions (if not many more) is an example of the excessive chaos that can ensue when political leaders choose to be completely ignorant of our rich past, and adopt ahistorical mindsets.

In a must read, Pandemics: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press), Historian Christian W. McMillen offers readers an excellent overview of the subject of Pandemics, including an entire chapter devoted to the 1918/1919 Influenza Pandemic (Influenza), with the conclusion of the book reading:

“Pandemics are not going away. There are no doubt more to come. A pandemic might come from an old and familiar foe such as influenza…”

iDose seized the opportunity to hear him out, and here’s what he had to say. Enjoy!

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Aly Kamadia (AK): Thank you so much for the opportunity to interview you.

Christian McMillen (CM): Thanks for having me Aly.  

AK: Tens of millions of people around the world are set to be infected by COVID-19. Why are many experts drawing parallels to the 1918 Influenza, in which 500 million people were infected, a staggering third of the world’s population at the time?

CM: I think it’s for the simple reason that that was the last time a pandemic of this scale occurred. Like influenza in 1918, COVID-19 appears to have spread across the entire planet. And, like 1918, there is neither a vaccine nor cure.

AK: As recent as a few weeks ago, Heads of State (and many political leaders in general) were brushing off the potential of their country being effected by COVID-19. Why do you suspect many political leaders showed an utter lack of judgement that will negatively impact millions of lives (notwithstanding their intentions)?

CM: Well, playing down the severity of a potential pandemic (or epidemic) is not uncommon historically. Sometime it’s because leaders actually lack good information and what they say one day may be updated by the next. At others times it’s because they do not want to create panic—we saw this during the 1918 flu pandemic. And willful suppression of information can also play role.

AK: You note that during the 1918/1919 influenza, “overreaction was frowned upon.” Do you think political leaders, say in the Western World, have been and/or continue to be too relaxed – even if their views are pessimistic?

CM: The range of responses have been varied and thus making a generalization is tough. I think it’s fair to say that yes, some responses have been too relaxed. Though there’s a fine line between not wanting to sow panic and ensuring that people take this seriously.

AK: Do you think that some authoritarian governments, and I’m putting aside any ethical considerations here, are able to react more swiftly during such times, partly because they don’t have to deal with rigid and inflexible bureaucracies (e.g. an authoritarian leader can often impose a swift lockdown with the full force of the police and military at the snap of a finger, and without the need for things like Congressional approval)?

CM: I think, yes, as a matter of fact, that is the case.

AK: In the concluding chapter, you mention that arrogance and naiveté are a lethal combination. Can you elaborate on what you were referring to, and whether those words come to mind when you see how the current crisis is being handled and unfolding  – whether in the United States, UK, Canada, or beyond?

CM: That’s a big question! What I meant was that when you combine arrogance, which might come in the form of unwarranted bluster or confidence about the ease of tackling a disease, with naïveté, which might present as a simplistic understanding of, for example, the impacts of a pandemic, you inevitably make bad choices. I see examples of this in some of the ways the United States (US) federal government is handling the current pandemic.