HLTHAGE 1AA3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Ableism, Neoliberalism, Medicalization
10 May 2017
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Document Summary
Politics is about power - how to get someone to do what you want them to do. Involves compromise, cooperation, and debate (whose ideas get accepted and whose get left behind) Although politics might involve the gov, any power-structured relationship is political. Health and illness are not merely biological states - they are sites of political struggle. Inequalities: some people have more of it than others. Health differences not merely a consequence of genetics. Stems from broader inequalities (income, class, racism, homophobia, ableism etc) (who deserves health care?) Access to healthcare also prone to inequalities. Whether inequality is something to be stamped out, something unavoidable, or something positive are all political viewpoints. Social determinants of health can be structured/addressed through political means. Housing, employment, income heavily influenced by political decisions. Subject to all sorts of pressure from various directions. Rights enjoyed equally by all citizens, commodities held on an unequal basis. For some health is a right of citizenship.
