Exceptionalism at the Time of covid-19: Where Nationalism Meets Irrationality

What is it about?

Here we identify and analyse the role of exceptionalism in the responses of the United Kingdom and the United States to the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020: exceptionalism is the view that a group is different from (better than) other groups and thus deserves special treatment. In some countries, political leaders appealed to national character and national value to justify slow and ineffective policies to the health threat. We argue that there is an analogy between national exceptionalism and the widespread bias of unrealistic optimism, when people have overly flattering beliefs about themselves that lead them to make unwarranted predictions about the future. We also observe how exceptionalism, and in particular appeals to national values and national character, contributed to people's explanations of their own behaviour during the pandemic. For instance, people justified flouting health and safety recommendations in the name of upholding the value of freedom.

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