Why Are People Not Outraged at the Disparity in Access to COVID-19 Test Kits?
The Common Knowledge Game
Coined by Ben Hunt, the Common Knowledge Game traces how knowledge leads to group action. There’s three types of knowledge: private knowledge, public knowledge, and common knowledge. When just you and a few others know X, it’s private knowledge. When everybody knows X, but doesn’t know that everyone else knows X, it’s public knowledge. When everyone knows X and everyone knows that everyone else knows X, it’s common knowledge. For public knowledge to become common knowledge, some “Missionary” or firebrand will publicly share the knowledge in a widespread enough manner that everyone will know that everyone else heard the news. Basically:
private knowledge: few individuals know it
public knowledge: everyone knows it, but doesn’t know that everyone else knows it
common knowledge: everyone knows it, and knows that everyone else knows it
Hunt exemplifies the Common Knowledge Game with the story of the Emperor’s New Clothes. In the story, two tailors convince a king that they’ve invented a fabric that can only be seen by intelligent people. Obviously, the tailors are charlatans and the fabric nonexistent. The “knowledge” here is that the fabric is fake. It starts out as private knowledge. The king then goes out wearing clothes made from the fabric, but is actually naked because the fabric does not exist.
When everyone sees the emperor naked, it becomes public knowledge that the fabric is fake. Everyone knows it, but doesn’t say anything because they don’t know whether they can’t see it because they’re stupid. Finally, a child shouts that the king is naked. It then becomes common knowledge that the king was fooled, as everyone knows that everyone else heard the child’s announcement. The villagers and court then start mocking the king. Note that the villagers only take action when it becomes common knowledge.
Why are you telling me about this?
Why are you concerned about your time? You’re probably locked in your house with nothing better to do. Just kidding.
I’m shocked that the coronavirus hasn’t sparked a stronger cross-spectrum populist movement. Throughout the last decade, the Right and Alt-Right adopted populist movements which got Trump elected. I expected the coronavirus to cause mass populist movements across the political spectrum within the working and middle classes. Wealthy, influential individuals clearly have an easier time procuring COVID-19 test kits. Meanwhile, hospital staff, grocery store workers, gas station workers, etc. cannot procure test kits. Most people don’t care about everyday, shallow envy, but get upset when their livelihoods — food, water, life — are interfered with. So, why are people not outraged?
Perhaps people aren’t outraged because the media hasn’t emphasized the disparity in access to test kits. Most people get their news from mainstream media — FOX, NBC, ABC, CNN and popular culture such as MTV and talk shows. These sources are often biased, so the bias is often projected onto their audiences. Emphasis is one form of bias, especially in terms of language surrounding the story and time spent on the story. Perhaps the disparity in access to test kits is highly de-emphasized, or not covered at all. In which case, the public wouldn’t even know and therefore cannot be outrage.
However, people must be aware of the disparity in test kits after the reports of NBA players coming down with COVID-19. The news obviously reported the story that Brooklyn Nets, LA Lakers, and Boston Celtics players had tested positive. To know this, teams must have had access to test kits. There seems to be individual outrage on Twitter — plenty of users are posting questions about how teams accessed test kits. At least one team was confirmed to have purchased COVID-19 test kits privately. Others argued that the government allotted teams test kits because NBA players are “high-contact.” In any case, some Twitter users seem to be aware of the disparity in access to test kits. However, perhaps mainstream news stations de-emphasize the news of NBA players catching COVID-19. They keep people stimulated by the constant stream of topics and hot takes, and thus prevent people from realizing that teams procured mass numbers of test kits and wondering how the test kits were procured.
Perhaps The Common Knowledge Game also helps us understand the lack of outrage about the disparity in access to test kits. Perhaps the information is currently somewhere between private knowledge and public knowledge. Within the next few weeks, maybe it will become public knowledge. At this point, it requires a “Missionary” or firebrand to turn it into common knowledge. Who will that “Missionary” be? Who is influential enough, and frankly gutsy enough, to bring light to the utter disparity in access to test kits?
Finding a Missionary will be incredibly difficult. For one, there seems to be an inverse correlation between influence and daringness/boldness. Secondly, anyone influential enough to be a Missionary likely has access to a test kit for them and their family, and likely does not want to risk future access to resources. Perhaps the Missionary will be a politician claiming to represent the people. This would be someone who is influential, but wants to de-emphasize their influence or disassociate from the oligarchy. Perhaps Bernie Sanders is the ideal Missionary here. I hope not because I hate him, but perhaps.
Furthermore, if this does become common knowledge, what will come about? Will we topple the oligarchy and ruling class? Will we tend towards a socialist healthcare system and society? Is this the realization that Marx argued the working class needed to launch a revolution? I don’t think it’s the last one, but perhaps the first two.
Perhaps people are aware of the disparity in access to test kits, but don’t care because they don’t think test kit access affects their life and health. We Americans are known for our egotism and arrogance, believing that we are invincible to the fate and doom of others. Perhaps some people believe that they cannot possibly get the virus (“I wash my hands and stopped going to the gym so I’ll be fine!”), and so they don’t think they need a test kit. Hence, they don’t care that they can’t access test kits.
But in reality, who knows. I’ve used the word “perhaps” nine (now ten) times in this essay because I honestly do not know what is going to happen to society. But as my friend Chris says, it is a fantastic time to be alive and to make predictions because of how short the feedback loop is.
