A common argument against lockdowns is that they restrict freedom. On this view, lockdowns might be effective in protecting public health, but their impact on freedom is purely negative. This article challenges that view. It argues that while lockdowns restrict freedom, so too do viruses. Since viruses restrict freedom, and lockdowns protect us from viruses, lockdowns can protect us from the harmful effects that viruses have upon freedom. The problem we face is not necessarily freedom vs public health. Sometimes it is freedom itself – or its value or distribution - that provides reason for lockdowns.

Work on this article received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement 842176.