PHIL 2390H Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Negative Liberty
26 Jun 2018
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Do we have a right to health care?
No
- Health is important, but the cost of health care, and the way in which we fund health
care, detracts from more ‘basic’ negative freedom based rights.
oAs a society, we need to protect people from harm (fire departments, police
services… more important than healthcare rights)
- We cannot sacrifice justice for beneficence
- Very few argue that we have no right, but for many this right is very limited
Yes
- The right to health care, is justified because without health we are unable to exercise
more negative freedom based rights.
- Basic health is a precondition human flourishing
- Justice and beneficence are inseparable
What is Buchanan arguing?
- The right to a decent minimum of health care must be justified but this is rarely done
- Many arguments for publically funded health care rely on this right… but do they need
to?
- Buchanan argues that we can justify publically funded healthcare without appealing to
this problematic right.
Buchanan’s arguments
- He appeals to three kinds of arguments which work together to justify a non voluntary
publically funded health care system
1. Arguments from Special Rights
2. Arguments from the Prevention of Harm
3. Prudential Arguments
Arguments from Special Rights (p.376-368)
1. Rectifying past injustices
2. Compensating those who have suffered unjust harm or who have been unjustly exposed
to health risks
3. Providing some benefit for those who make sacrifices for public good (for instance those
in the military)
*These arguments do not justify a universal right to publically funded health care but they do
justify such a right for some.
Arguments from the prevention of harm (p.368)
- We have an obligation to prevent others from coming to any harm
- Publically funded health care can significantly reduce the likelihood of experiencing
harm.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Very few argue that we have no right, but for many this right is very limited. The right to health care, is justified because without health we are unable to exercise more negative freedom based rights. The right to a decent minimum of health care must be justified but this is rarely done. Buchanan argues that we can justify publically funded healthcare without appealing to this problematic right. He appeals to three kinds of arguments which work together to justify a non voluntary publically funded health care system: arguments from special rights, arguments from the prevention of harm, prudential arguments. *these arguments do not justify a universal right to publically funded health care but they do justify such a right for some. We have an obligation to prevent others from coming to any harm. Publically funded health care can significantly reduce the likelihood of experiencing harm.
