Hundreds of cases of measles have been diagnosed across North America this
winter, a resurgences of the disease that is being attributed to low rates of
vaccination in some communities, partly for philosophical reasons.
At some point of
success in mass immunizations, it becomes rational for those not yet vaccinated
to avoid the procedure, because to go
through with it carries more cost than benefit. Failure to be vaccinated is usually
attributed to sloth, ignorance, or superstition; but this analysis suggests
that, at a certain point, avoiding
vaccination can be a rational exercise in pursuit of self-interest. It may be immoral, because the Non-Vaccinators
are riding free on the Vaccinators to expose themselves to risk, but it is not
irrational.
Tom Flanagan, Game
Theory and Canadian Politics (1998)[2]
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