How the Freedom Convoy exposes a West in chaos

People gather on a bridge over Highway 400 in support of truckers, who are on their way to Ottawa for the "freedom convoy" protest, in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada, on Jan. 27, 2022. The "freedom convoy" was sparked by outrage over a vaccine mandate recently imposed on Canadian-U.S. cross-border truckers. (Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua)

Throughout February a series of protests took place in Canada which became known as “Freedom Convoy”. Fuelled by truck drivers who sought to resist the government’s mandatory vaccination mandates, the protestors occupied the city centre of Canada’s capital Ottawa, whilst also for a number of days blocking off a key border transit point between the country and the United States. Authorities in Canada eventually responded by initiating emergency powers giving them the power to arrest perpetrators, freeze their financial resources and clear the occupied areas.

The “Freedom Convoy” essentially marked the latest phase of a longstanding opposition by segments of certain groups in the West, especially in the United States, against policies by governments to combat Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, branding them as an abuse of government power and a violation of personal freedoms. This has included opposition to lockdowns and social distancing, objections to mask mandates and now opposing mandatory vaccination policies by governments.

The presence of such sentiments can be found throughout the West but is more strongly represented in English speaking countries owing to the political influence of the U.S., which is largely deemed responsible for the “Freedom Convoy” through figures such as former U.S. president Donald Trump, right wing commentators and financial support. The ideological motives present at the movement stem directly from the American interpretation of classical liberal thought, which advocates individualism and limited government. This train of thought also leads to the promulgation of many conspiracy theories, with a prominent take being found throughout the internet that Covid is a part of plans for a “Great Reset”, claiming that the Covid-19 was simply a ruse for governments to assert greater control over their populations.

The existence of these conspiracies and the unrest which accompanies it has subsequently created large scale disruption in the ability of Western governments to effectively tackle Covid-19 and is a primary factor behind the high case counts and deaths throughout the West, with many people simply refusing to comply with rules or take precautions in fighting the virus. In the U.S,, confirmed cases since 2020 now total over 78 million and deaths are approaching 1 million, showing how the obsessive focus on individual liberty as opposed to the common good is hugely detrimental to human life. Such sentiment manifest by the “Freedom Convoy” also encourages governments to avoid taking unpopular decisions, and to instead pursue populist ideas in the hope of getting more support.

In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has faced with a number of scandals which severely impacted his popularity, and despite facing an enormous Covid-19 outbreak at the start of 2022, he responded by absconding all restrictions whatsoever, refusing to push for vaccine mandates and even throwing out the legal requirement for incoming travellers to isolate upon arrival. Above all else, this shows the political indecisiveness of democracies to manage matters of public interest and act responsively, and how the pandemic has unleashed political instability and chaos in the West with its own ideology seemingly incapable of managing the Covid-19 virus in many aspects, which has been symbolized above all by the “Freedom Convoy”.

The author is a British Analyst of politics and international relations with a primary focus on East Asia. He graduated from Oxford University with a MSc. in Chinese studies.

The opinions expressed in this article reflect those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of People's Daily Online.