Body Politic(s)
I can’t say I enjoyed reading The Political Determinants of Health by Daniel E. Dawes. It’s about the political processes that unevenly distribute health-supporting resources (think: housing, food, education). But I have to admit I learned a lot and would recommend it.
Here are a few of my favorite quotes: (emphasis added)
The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of good government/ Thomas Jefferson to the Republicans March 31, 1809 (Anyone else see the irony of this coming from a slaveowner?)
“. . .a dollar increase in the minimum wage above the federal law was associated with [a] 1 – 2% decrease in low-birth-weight births and a 4% decrease in post neonatal mortality.” (This helps explain why Louisiana and Missippi have high rates of low-birth-weight babies: both states have minimum wage set at $7.25, the federal minimum.)
“The third factor that affects our current political affairs and policy development includes demographic changes and the growing physical disconnect between those represented and those who represent them.” (p. 55)
The lack of health equity policies “has resulted in many groups being unable to fully contribute to the enhancement of our society.”
“The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick the needy, and the handicapped.” Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey 1977
The major thing I learned was that health equity policies move forward if and only if they link to another objective, such as national security or business interests. For example, free school lunches came to be when the military had to refuse many recruits because they were malnourished. The ethical or moral “value” of health equity is not compelling, despite what Thomas Jefferson or Hubert Humphrey said about it.
Bottom Line: I recommend the book, though you might want to read it in small doses.
