Mr Khan said:
Right. It's a bit like slavery in a way. You lose your freedom, but there is a burden on part of the owner (in this case, the State acting as incarcerator) to look after your wellbeing as part of their investment The twisted part of all this is that we don't view healthcare as a matter of human wellbeing, we view it as a commodity. That's the only thing wrong with this picture |
There are some individuals who view the marketplace as some sort of sacred place that will ALWAYS, without exception, generation the best solution to EVERY problem humanity has. It may not be perfect, but it is expected to be optimal. Outside of a few realms, like national defense, or anything else they would be spooked into believing their neighbor would overpower them, they believe the market is the answer to every ill of humanity. For these individuals the idea that health care is a product that would be provided outside the marketplace, is a horror. Such individuals, in the latest round of Obamacare debate, had concerns that Obamacare would drive private insurers out of business.
A question I would have to ask here is: If the marketplace is such a superior option, and private industry is so much superior to the government, HOW could the government then put them out of business if competing in the same market arena? Is it that the government would set demands of service for rules that only they are able to compete?
Regarding markets, I personally believe they are very effective, and a critical part of society. However, I hold NO faith that they are the best answer in all cases. A free society also has a ballot, and gives everyone one vote, and you aren't allowed to have more than that. You have the ability to freely organize oneself also as one choose. There are also families, where the balance of power is WAY out of wack, and individuals in families don't contribute back the same level as they put out. Religious institutions, and other non-profits, that also step into the gap. And there is also governments with systems of taxation and government workers that also do things. Society has shown a range of ways to provide solutions, that aren't the marketplace alone. The only one would would end up arguing against this are individuals who worship Capitalism as some sort of perfect system that will lead the world to some sort of utopia, or at least the most optimal way for society to organize itself.
On that note, I will close with this memory of William F Buckley statement of him trying to quote someone else:
Five years ago this week, my former boss William F. Buckley started a column thusly:
“Every ten years I quote the same adage from the late Austrian analyst Willi Schlamm, and I hope that ten years from now someone will remember to quote it in my memory. It goes, ‘The trouble with socialism is socialism. The trouble with capitalism is capitalists.’”
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/229606/capitalism-vs-capitalists/jonah-goldberg







