From the Perspective of Orlando Patterson
In Freedom in the Making of Western Culture, Paterson points out that freedom is valued especially in the western world. He states “there is nothing at all self-evident in the idea or, more properly, the high esteem in which we in the West hold freedom. For most of human history, and for nearly all of the non-Western world prior to Western contact, freedom was, and for many still remains, anything but an obvious or desirable goal.” [1] This is especially interesting in the discussion of healthcare between the United States and the United Kingdom as both are countries that subscribe to the western view of freedom. This view of freedom is complex; he believes “Freedom…is a tripartite value. Behind the term's numerous shades of meaning are three ideas, closely related historically, sociologically, and conceptually, which may be called personal, sovereignal, and civic freedoms.” [2]
Each one of these ideas ties into the healthcare dilemma. He states that personal freedom is about acting without being restrained, which access to healthcare can be considered a restraint. This restraint can limit people from having basis needs covered from a simple bone break to cancer treatment; when people do not have access to healthcare, they can’t have these problems which affect the quality and length of life taken care of.
Sovereignal freedom is about acting however you want, regardless of the desires of others; this can be related to how the healthcare system in the United States acts for profit. This results in people from marginalized and low-income communities not getting access because those who run the healthcare system can control who really is taken care of through the price of healthcare. This gives those in power the freedom to benefit from the high cost but limits the freedom of those who cannot afford that same cost. He recognizes this issue of greed when he states, “At its worst, no value has been more evil and socially corrosive in its consequences, inducing selfishness, alienation, the celebration of greed, and the dehumanizing disregard for the' "losers," the little people who fail to make it.” [3]
The final aspect of Patterson’s idea of freedom is civic freedom, which is the freedom to participate in the governing and life of the community. This is relevant to both the UK and the USA as the United Kingdom’s healthcare system is influenced by the government, and people are compelled to be active in their democracy to protect their access. In the USA, this is a serious issue in the 2020 election as the demand for universal healthcare grows in the United states; people are encouraged to be active in their democracy to determine the future of America’s healthcare system.
Patterson said, “Freedom, like love and beauty, is one of those values better experienced than defined.” [4] And healthcare is something everyone, regardless of country, has to experience. Some people believe that having it for all makes people more free.
Each one of these ideas ties into the healthcare dilemma. He states that personal freedom is about acting without being restrained, which access to healthcare can be considered a restraint. This restraint can limit people from having basis needs covered from a simple bone break to cancer treatment; when people do not have access to healthcare, they can’t have these problems which affect the quality and length of life taken care of.
Sovereignal freedom is about acting however you want, regardless of the desires of others; this can be related to how the healthcare system in the United States acts for profit. This results in people from marginalized and low-income communities not getting access because those who run the healthcare system can control who really is taken care of through the price of healthcare. This gives those in power the freedom to benefit from the high cost but limits the freedom of those who cannot afford that same cost. He recognizes this issue of greed when he states, “At its worst, no value has been more evil and socially corrosive in its consequences, inducing selfishness, alienation, the celebration of greed, and the dehumanizing disregard for the' "losers," the little people who fail to make it.” [3]
The final aspect of Patterson’s idea of freedom is civic freedom, which is the freedom to participate in the governing and life of the community. This is relevant to both the UK and the USA as the United Kingdom’s healthcare system is influenced by the government, and people are compelled to be active in their democracy to protect their access. In the USA, this is a serious issue in the 2020 election as the demand for universal healthcare grows in the United states; people are encouraged to be active in their democracy to determine the future of America’s healthcare system.
Patterson said, “Freedom, like love and beauty, is one of those values better experienced than defined.” [4] And healthcare is something everyone, regardless of country, has to experience. Some people believe that having it for all makes people more free.
From the Perspective of Angela Davis
In Meaning of Freedom, Davis puts forth the idea that the prison system is just the modern way in which discrimination against people of color takes place. She mainly points out that slavery was “ended,” but the attitudes that allowed it haunt the current society, even as we believe we have become more progressive. In fact, Davis draws the connection between the prison system and slavery in regards to history in saying “I suppose that very few people think about the fact that the institution of the prison has claimed a place at the very core of black history, particularly since the abolition of slavery.” [5]
This issue with the prison system still continuing to oppress minorities due to biases against race that originate from slavery is a problem that Davis attempts to get to the bottom of. She believes the societal issues that allow for this discrimination can find their origin in economics. The government made the legal change to end slavery, and to ensure that people of color were treated with the rights they deserve, they would need to ensure that the rights of people of color were protected until society changed to accept people of color as people. However, this period, in US history was long and equal rights were still being fought for in the 1960s. The prison system was used to continue to punish people of color after slavery, and equal rights were not totally protected in law (whether or not equal rights exist in practice is still an ongoing debate).
Just 20 years later, the United States began following neoliberal economic theory, which “requires the government to withdraw from virtually all social services. The market is supposed to determine everything. Freedom emerges because the market will determine the distribution of education, the distribution of health care.” [6] This did not give society enough time to adjust, and, thus, the issues of racial bias in the prison system that already existed were allowed to continue in the heart of the prison system. However, this reference to healthcare is where our interest lies as healthcare access has been tied into having a similar development in regards to discriminated groups.
Davis doesn’t delve into the topic of discrimination in healthcare, but now that we’ve seen that racial biases from the time of slavery were not completely disregarded, we can recognize how they were also put into healthcare. Many people believe the high cost of healthcare in the United States, as opposed to countries like the United Kingdom where its free, is a crisis. Davis mentions this “crisis of health care and…health care has become totally privatized since the 1980s.” [7] This points to the fact that the neoliberal theory that led to the privatization of healthcare and prisons doesn’t really create the freedoms that it is supposed to; crises only occur when things go wrong, which shows that these freedoms were not achieved for all of society. Those who were the most adversely affected were those in communities that could not afford the rising cost of healthcare.
This issue with poverty and the limitations on freedom is shared between prisons and healthcare. Davis writes “The hidden danger of relying on incarceration as the major solution to behaviors that are often the by-products of poverty is that the solution reproduces the very problem it purports to solve.” [8] This idea that the prison system keeps people in poverty relates to how people of color are less likely to have healthcare due to them being kept impoverished to the point where they cannot afford it.
Angela Davis’s perspective on freedom shows how pursing freedom in theory doesn’t always lead to freedom in practice for all people. Though she is speaking from a mostly American point of view, she does mention that issues with discrimination is “increasingly a major aspect of the lives of people who are racially oppressed in Europe.” [9]
This issue with the prison system still continuing to oppress minorities due to biases against race that originate from slavery is a problem that Davis attempts to get to the bottom of. She believes the societal issues that allow for this discrimination can find their origin in economics. The government made the legal change to end slavery, and to ensure that people of color were treated with the rights they deserve, they would need to ensure that the rights of people of color were protected until society changed to accept people of color as people. However, this period, in US history was long and equal rights were still being fought for in the 1960s. The prison system was used to continue to punish people of color after slavery, and equal rights were not totally protected in law (whether or not equal rights exist in practice is still an ongoing debate).
Just 20 years later, the United States began following neoliberal economic theory, which “requires the government to withdraw from virtually all social services. The market is supposed to determine everything. Freedom emerges because the market will determine the distribution of education, the distribution of health care.” [6] This did not give society enough time to adjust, and, thus, the issues of racial bias in the prison system that already existed were allowed to continue in the heart of the prison system. However, this reference to healthcare is where our interest lies as healthcare access has been tied into having a similar development in regards to discriminated groups.
Davis doesn’t delve into the topic of discrimination in healthcare, but now that we’ve seen that racial biases from the time of slavery were not completely disregarded, we can recognize how they were also put into healthcare. Many people believe the high cost of healthcare in the United States, as opposed to countries like the United Kingdom where its free, is a crisis. Davis mentions this “crisis of health care and…health care has become totally privatized since the 1980s.” [7] This points to the fact that the neoliberal theory that led to the privatization of healthcare and prisons doesn’t really create the freedoms that it is supposed to; crises only occur when things go wrong, which shows that these freedoms were not achieved for all of society. Those who were the most adversely affected were those in communities that could not afford the rising cost of healthcare.
This issue with poverty and the limitations on freedom is shared between prisons and healthcare. Davis writes “The hidden danger of relying on incarceration as the major solution to behaviors that are often the by-products of poverty is that the solution reproduces the very problem it purports to solve.” [8] This idea that the prison system keeps people in poverty relates to how people of color are less likely to have healthcare due to them being kept impoverished to the point where they cannot afford it.
Angela Davis’s perspective on freedom shows how pursing freedom in theory doesn’t always lead to freedom in practice for all people. Though she is speaking from a mostly American point of view, she does mention that issues with discrimination is “increasingly a major aspect of the lives of people who are racially oppressed in Europe.” [9]
Citations
[1-4]: Patterson, Orlando. Freedom in the Making of Western Culture. New York, NY: BasicBooks, 1991.
[5-9]: Davis, Angela Yvonne, and Robin D. G. Kelley. The Meaning of Freedom. San Francisco, CA: City Lights Books, 2012.
[5-9]: Davis, Angela Yvonne, and Robin D. G. Kelley. The Meaning of Freedom. San Francisco, CA: City Lights Books, 2012.
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Created By Anna Kemper, Collin Cahill, Thomas Rosseau, Hayley Sutherland, and Julianna Neuner
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Photo used under Creative Commons from wuestenigel