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I think I agree with you, although I certainly don't think either the Canadian or British systems are perfect. The Canadian ban on private health care has its o
by fidotron 15y ago
I think I agree with you, although I certainly don't think either the Canadian or British systems are perfect. The Canadian ban on private health care has its own serious problems, and the PFIs in the UK are a mess. Those systems have resulted in their own (possibly) unintentional but utterly predictable side effects. The other classic that Friedman and co used to point out is the minimum wage.
That said, I support the NHS etc. for entirely selfish reasons. I don't want to get sick, and more importantly I don't want other people making me sick. (Also not needing medical cover for employees is great for small companies). If there's an easy way to balance this I don't think it's been found yet.
- eli_gottlieb 15y agoNothing is perfect, but there are very different conceptions of citizenship at work. The proposed one, to which I object, is the capitalist/neoliberal conception of a citizen: a pseudo-"rational" actor in a political and economic war of all against all for the sake of individual and incorporated self-interest in the form of money and property, restrained only by statutory and Constitutional law from attacking their competitors. I counterpropose the traditional social-democratic vision of citizenship: a partly-emotional actor who participates in collective decision-making to pursue their values and their collective interests, thus enhancing their private life by placing it in a more secure public matrix. >The other classic that Friedman and co used to point out is the minimum wage. Funny how everyone listens to Friedman et al when they propose eliminating the minimum wage, collective ownership of commons property, or most social services, but not when they suggested a citizen's income or a negative income tax.