chapter 6: politics, social justice, and health Flashcards
groups of individuals mobilized around a common cause (form when individuals see or experience challenges around health)
social movements
refers to a situation in which all citizens share equal access to treatment and a fair allocation of resources regardless of their social status (proven to be top priority for Canadians)
social justice
what does a lack of social justice lead to
increase illness, disease, and mortality
what does a just health care system lead to
increase community democracy and foster healthier lives
what is the difference between social justice and individual justice
individual justices only applies to obligations that exist between individuals and social justice is the notion that civil society is founded on the basis of a social contract
what are the four dominant theories
libertarian perspective, classical utilitarians, marxist perspective, and Rawlsian theory of social justice
libertarian perspective
- supports the creation of institutions
- social justice should not disrupt the market order
- distribution of resources are seen as fair
- individual have a right to acquire or transfer property
- state should have minimal role, a very nominal social contract that rejects any claim of health care as a right
- don’t see the need for the state to intervene in the lives of people who were born disadvantaged
Friedrich Hayek (libertarian perspective)
judging individual outcomes based on conscious or deliberate action is logical, but to apply this principle at a societal level is ineffective
Robert Nozick (libertarian persepctive)
- claims that social justice is an entitlement
- believes that individuals have a right to own property and argues for minimal state involvement and sees state attempts to redistribute resources as unmerited
property may be acquired, as long as it is previously unowned. theft, coercion, and fruad are unacceptable
justice in acquisition
property may be transferred, as long as no theft, force, or fraud occur in the transfer of said property
justice in transfer
violations of the first two principles of justice are to be rectified
rectification
classic utilitarians
- believe that the foundation of society is built around the mutual expectations and advantages of voluntary relationships
- doesn’t endorse health care as a basic human right but doesn’t rule out the possibility that health care may be universally offered if driven by social policy (as long as it would be of maximum benefit to the majority of its members)
John Stuart Mill (classic utilitarians)
argued that the delivery of societal goods should be for the “greatest net balance of satisfaction” which suggests that utility should be shared accordingly to deliver to greatest good to the maximum number of people
critics of classic utilitarians argue that
vulnerable populations are often affected at a greater rate, they may be further marginalized when they have to acquiesce for the goods of those in privileged classes
marxist perspective
- their core is the right of subsistence, which are essential to sustain life
- would describe health care system acts as a mode of production involving labour and collective ownership
rights to material resources
should be positive and mutually beneficial, we as individuals benefit from a gauranteed minimum level of welfare, we also have an obligation to ensure basic living standards
individuals duties to the natural rights of others
this position is also often championed by libertarians, an exception being the rigid guidelines around property rights that exclude ownership of any property that functions as a productive property
individuals should serve the common interest
individuals may need to abandon interests that conflict with collective equity or aim to subvert social and economic equalities
John Rawls
reinvented the concept through a “thought experiment”, creating a theoretical account of the social contract, individuals would agree on how a just society is defined
- individuals would have to determine society’s distribution of four primary goods: wealth and income, rights and liberties, opportunities for advancement, and self-respect
original theory of social justice
- each person should have equal right to the most extensive system of personal liberties compatible with a system of total liberty for all
- social and economic inequality should be arranged so that they benefit the least advantaged in society the most and everyone in society has a fair and equal opportunity to obtain the social positions that permit them to make decisions about inequalities
Rawlsian theory of social justice
- provides for an entitlement to health care
- health care as fundamental in a free and equal society
- social and economic inequality should be arranged to benefit those who are least well off
the idea posits that inequality within a just society can only exist if it is “of greatest benefit to the least advantaged members of society”
the difference principle
society is obligated provide the general means necessary to underwrite fair equality of opportunity and our capacity to take advantage of our basic rights and liberties, and thus be normal and fully cooperating members of society over a complete life
fair equality of opportunity
health activism
- occurs when a marginalized group believes it is necessary to confront systemic inequities in the distribution of power and resources related to health
- used to accomplish broad, long-term goals
- a more democratic process driven by the life experience of lay people/celebrities
- can be viewed as a bottom-up social movement