Class, health, and justice

Author(s): Wikler, D., Landesman, B.

Journal/Book: Milbank Quart. 1998; 76: 350 Main Street, Ste 6, Malden, MA 02148. Blackwell Publishers. 449.

Abstract: Class inequalities in health are intuitively unjust. Although che link between social class and health status has been fully documented, the precise nature of the injustice has not been made clear. Four alternative views are presented, corresponding to four goals: (1) maximizing the sum total of health; (2) equalizing the health status of higher and lower social classes; (3) maximizing the health status of the lowest social class; and (4) maximizing the health status of the sickest individuals in society. The nature of the injustice is further obscured by several theoretical and empirical questions, like the degree and significance of personal responsibility for illness and the relation of the degree of economic inequality to sum total of health.

Note: Article Wikler D, Univ Wisconsin, Sch Med, Program Med Eth, Med Sci Ctr 1410, 1300 Univ Ave, Madison,WI 53706 USA

Keyword(s): EQUALITY; WELFARE

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