> Public health officials have the goal of maximizing public health Partially correct, I'd argue they also have the goal of minimizing risk to themselves (thin

> Public health officials have the goal of maximizing public health Partially correct, I'd argue they also have the goal of minimizing risk to themselves (things like criticism of policy, like what happened in Sweden, or anything that could jeopardize funding or tenure of the leadership). They are not there to make bold decisions, they are there to minimize flak. Also, like all bureaucracies, they have the goal of growing their influence and size. But even that aside, "maximizing public health" is not the only goal function we have, and when policy decisions are made like that is all we care about, it disenfranchises and discriminates against people who rightfully have competing priorities. This is ine reason why we have a constitution, and there are limits on what government can do. No one entity maximizing it's one goal should be able to trump all other natural rights that we have. Additionally, this is the danger of technocracy overall. The technician is not a politician who negotiates compromise between public good and individual ambitions. He works only to maximize what is in his purview. As such, he's great to listen to for input, but should never be given free reign to dictate peoples behavior.