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In Covid's Wake 2025
In Covid's Wake: How Our Politics Failed Us is a 2025 book written by Stephen Macedo and Frances E. Lee. It analyzes the responses to the COVID-19 crisis in the United States, focusing on the actions of political leaders and the institutions that supported them.
Macedo and Lee claim that government officials abandoned their decision-making roles during the pandemic, instead deferring to scientists and public health experts. These experts introduced extensive non-pharmaceutical interventions without sufficient evidence, despite the negative consequences for economic conditions and daily life. The authors argue that such actions fueled a moral panic against those who questioned the policies, contributing to declining public trust and increasing political division throughout the pandemic.
The book gained significant recognition from media outlets and scholars, who praised its analysis of institutional failures and its exploration of how forced societal agreement can be dangerous. Critics noted it made an important contribution to understanding political polarization in the 2020s. Publications like The Economist, Compact, The New Yorker, and the Wall Street Journal listed it among the top books of 2025.
However, the work faced sharp criticism from scientists and medical professionals. They argued that it distorted public health information and misrepresented events during the pandemic period. These reviewers pointed out that it minimized the virus’s impact on health and behavior, underestimated the influence of misinformation and conservative politicians in driving polarization, and accepted alternative strategies—such as those promoted by supporters of the Great Barrington Declaration—without sufficient scrutiny of their practicality.
Details
- Publisher
- Princeton University Press
- ISBN
- 9780691267135
- Pages
- 392
