'This book is about the link between equality and the health of the American republic, the health of its citizens as well as of its democratic institutions'. In a timely and controversial discussion, Dan Beauchamp translates the public health viewpoint into the language of social justice and equality. Arguing that 'public health' and not 'health care' ought to be of prime importance, he puts community interests at the center of a theory of equality. He also demonstrates how protecting the public health is often a matter of strengthening civil liberties. Beauchamp confronts current debates on AIDS, equality in health care, restrictions on smoking, abortion, alcoholism, and drug abuse to discuss the role of government in protecting the public's health. Drawing on political philosophy and theories of democracy and equal citizenship, Beauchamp rejects the thesis that the republic's health depends on choosing between the welfare of the community and the freedom of the individual. Seeing both values as necessary in an egalitarian health policy, he analyzes the dilemma of choosing whether freedom or community ought to dominate in the several spheres of a democratic society that are critical to the public's health. Author note: Dan E. Beauchamp is Professor of Health Policy and Administration in the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and the author of "Beyond Alcoholism: Alcohol and Public Health Policy" (Temple).
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Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
The question of "equal" provision of health services is at the forefront of public debate. This is a scholar's study of what constitutes equality and how such an understanding might be applied to thorny issues such as AIDS, alcoholism, smoking, and the like. Informed by political philosopher Michael Walzer, Beauchamp rests his premise on a concept of "republican equality," which at once recognizes the communal need for basic health provision for all citizens and also the protection of individual freedom from moral paternalism; as well as the importance of ensuring medical autonomy from powerful commercial influence. Recommended for academic collections in public health, medical economics, and public philosophy.
- Judith Eannarino, George Washington Univ. Lib., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
- Judith Eannarino, George Washington Univ. Lib., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"[H]e is realistic enough to know that the inmates are too often in charge of our medical asylum. A knotty and illuminating exposition and a way out of our current problems." oBoston Globe "An original and highly important book... [It] should be urgent reading for those responsible for America's health." oDaniel Callahan, Director, The Hastings Center, and author of Setting Limits "In The Health of the Republic, Beauchamp sets forth the notion of 'republican equity' as the basis for providing medical cure and all will find it a thought-provoking challenge." oThe New England Journal of Medicine "Beauchamp's volume...represents the forceful expression of a public vision that stands as a challenge to the now dominant forces in American society." oMedical Humanities Review "This is an important new perspective on a central social controversy. It is also compelling." oWilliam M. Sullivan, La Salle University, and co-author of Habits of the Heart "A notable statement on health issues by a prominent leader in the campaign to reform American health policies." oDavid F. Musto, M.D., Yale University School of Medicine, and author of The American Disease
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Health, Politics, and Ethics - an essential combination,
By Robert Reynolds (Bethesda, MD USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Health of the Republic: Epidemics, Medicine, and Moralism As Challenges to Democracy (Health, Society and Policy) (Hardcover)
Dan Beauchamp is a political scientist who understands that politics and ethics are essential determinants of public health. More specifically, Beauchamp clarifies why "more speech" and "more privacy" are essential to resolution of the most pressing life-style health problems facing contemporary societies. The public health will not be advanced by the simple expenditure of funds....and will not be resolved absent the active participation of citizens in public debate over values and politics. This book presents a different view of health issues, a view sadly missing in present day health care debates.
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