MICHAEL BARONE: Will post-coronavirus America see a post-war boom, or will people just hunker down?

We’re not going back exactly to that normal life we remember. Even if restrictions are relaxed, many people will likely be reluctant to do things that seemed normal before — eating restaurant meals, fingering merchandise in clothing stores, attending mass events.

Governments’ powers to control people’s movements and restrict their behavior are, for good reasons, greatest in times of epidemics and wars. For that reason, many compare the limits and restrictions imposed in this and other countries with those during World War II. During what some people still call “the war,” the government shut down large parts of the economy and people were prevented from buying most consumer goods. . . .

Government restrictions to combat the coronavirus may not end as crisply as World War II did, but even if they do, it’s not clear whether that would produce something like the effervescence of post-World War II prosperity. Not only are restaurants and hospitality industries unlikely to snap back but, more importantly, it’s not clear that people kept mostly in place indoors will be inspired to venture into new economic enterprises.

Sentimentally, Americans may want things to go back to where they were, but they will be better off if they let their imaginations run loose instead of staying hunkered down.

I think it will be awful for movie theaters, arena sports, and tourism at least for a year or so. Other areas — I’d guess restaurants and gyms — will snap back hard. For the economy as a whole, who knows?