3 ms·

It's pretty american centric to believe free health care to be a leftist idea only.

• rsynnott 5y ago
  Which is... pretty odd, as one of the three dominant styles of universal health care today was originated by and is named after _Otto van Bismarck_, who you'd struggle to consider a leftist.
  • sofixa 5y ago
    Unless you're seeing things through the US duality lens, where everything is black or white, left or right, etc.. I don't get why climate change is a "leftist" issue for those people, and yet.. And to be fully fair, von Bismarck only did it to preempt social democrats' talking points and popularity.
  • _dps 5y ago
    It was implemented by Bismarck but it was an explicit plan to outmaneuver the left wing by taking a popular part of their platform, which I've seen translated as "stealing socialism's thunder". Good details from a US-left perspective here https://jacobinmag.com/2019/12/otto-von-bismarck-germany-social-democratic-party-spd https://jacobinmag.com/2019/12/otto-von-bismarck-germany-soc... and from a US-centerish perspective here https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/bismarck-tried-end-socialisms-grip-offering-government-healthcare-180964064/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/bismarck-tried-end-so...