Topic > Healthcare and Marxist theory - 834

In past centuries healthcare was the responsibility of individuals and their families, today medicine becomes an institution only when societies are more productive and people take on jobs specialists. At the same time as people become dependent on governments and organizations to provide them with healthcare and insurance, here's the problem. Social conflict analysis highlights the connection between health and social inequality. Following the ideas of Karl Marx, we can match health to the functioning of capitalism. Most attention has been paid to three main issues: access to medical care, the effects of profit motivation, and the politics of medicine. Starting to talk about access to healthcare, I would say: healthcare is essential for all people but at the same time people have to pay directly for medical care. Otherwise, you will not have a chance to live. This allows rich men and the upper classes to have the best healthcare. The problem is very serious in the United States as they do not have a universal medical care system like in European countries. Social conflict theory in the United States holds that society provides the best healthcare but only to the wealthy, leaving 50 million Americans without health insurance who currently have low incomes. This is the case in which the film claims John Q. A factory worker, whose child needs a transplant, but his medical insurance does not cover the costs of the surgery. Marxist theory argues that the problem is not just about access to medical care. It is the capitalist economy that defines health and medicine. Under the aegis of this system, “the main goal of medicine is not health but profit. Profit turns doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical industry into multi-billionaires... paper halves... higher incomes to support the program. Parents can use their health care plans to include their children up to age 26, solving similar problems to John's son. To conclude, healthcare is a primary responsibility of governments. They must ensure that everyone has comprehensive insurance that ensures equality among all members of society without segregation between rich and poor. Marxist theory stated that medicine became a profitable project rather than a human task to serve people and save their lives as it was linked to capitalism. John, the poor worker, was guilty of taking such a harsh action to hold hostages but at the same time he was not guilty of being poor and not having insurance to save his son's life. The role of the doctor is to be fair when dealing with patients and to think about the morals and ethics of the profession before thinking about money.