Don’t get me wrong, I’m not defending the current US healthcare system, it’s horrible and riddled with perverse incentives, and should be mostly (if not entirely) nationalized. I’m just not sure how to justify the idea that healthcare is a “right”.

I know that sometimes people on the left draw a comparison to the right to a public defender. I’m not sure that argument really holds up though, because you only have the right to a public defender under the specific circumstance of being prosecuted by the government for a crime. The logic there is “if the government is going to significantly interfere with your life by arresting you and trying you for a crime, then it at least has to allow you to get legal defense from a qualified attorney, even if you need the government to pay for it.” There’s not, like, a right to a publicly paid lawyer for any and all purposes.

  • quarrk [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Rights are not absolute, they presuppose a given society which has certain functions and powers it can administer at will. In our society there is not really a shortage of healthcare, only an artificial limit on distribution because private property.

    Saying healthcare is a right in our capitalist society amounts to two things.

    1. Payment for essential healthcare is an entitlement of all people, regardless of personal financial situation.
    2. Healthcare availability cannot discriminate by ability to pay. Treat first, sort out payment later.
    • spectre [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      Like most of these things "healthcare is a human right", "defund/abolish the police", etc... They are nearly-meaningless catch phrases/bumper stickers that don't actually communicate the position. Not sure exactly how to resolve this, but it sucks that for many, the discussion begins and ends with that alone.