Sheila's Post

As others have already pointed out, there are no purely socialist health systems—as least among the countries we've talked about in class or studied in our readings. I agree with everyone who has discussed fear of socialism, in the context of American individualism. Collective ownership and equal distribution of goods, however, can also be feared by someone coming from a less individualistic standpoint. It may be argued that competition and an unequal society promote hard work, creativity, and other admirable characteristics. A person who rejects the idea of doling out goods and services—whether health care or anything else—may denounce it beyond the basis of just deserts. Rather, he may fear the wearing away of the ideals of hard work and creativity; he may fear the promotion of complacency and even laziness. Thus, using socialism to prevent moves towards universal health care in the U.S. works from many angles: it encourages denunciation of universal health care from those who are individualistically minded, as well as from those with more—albeit skewed—social concern.