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Mainstream Health Economics and Dignity: The Commodity Narrative as a Debilitating Solecism?
Author(s) -
McMaster Robert
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
american journal of economics and sociology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.199
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1536-7150
pISSN - 0002-9246
DOI - 10.1111/j.1536-7150.2012.00872.x
Subject(s) - mainstream , dignity , objectification , commodity , health care , narrative , positive economics , sociology , economics , political science , economic growth , law , philosophy , market economy , linguistics
Mainstream health economics conceives health care as a commodity, at least metaphorically, and also attempts to quantify health, both of which, this article contends, lead to the objectification of the individual. Consequently, the standard approach distorts the nature of health care and does not furnish a sufficient basis for the promotion of human dignity; indeed, there is much to suggest it is a source of debilitation.