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A Few EINO Book Reviews
We intend to review just a few of the most important books to be recently published (we began this page just in Feb 2005). Suggest a review, book or write one for us.
SICKNESS AND WEALTH: The Corporate Assault on Global Health, Edited by Meredith Fort, Mary Anne Mercer and Oscar Gish. South End Press 2004. $18
Sickness and Wealth is an enlightening and in-depth collection of essays on this, perhaps the most central, of corporate assaults. This book will raise any reader’s awareness of how health care issues, especially in the third world, are naturally intertwined with the issues of poverty, environmental degradation, militarism, racism, issues of democratic participation and all issues of economic justice. The book clearly depicts and emphasizes how the struggle for human rights is in its essence directly up against the corporate assault known as "globalization of economies" and how health is a central aspect of human rights.
The essays hold together to form a well-rounded picture of how globalization has already affected how health care and health opportunities are pursued and achieved throughout the world and what the major forces restricting future achievement are likely to be. Scores of detailed specific examples are discussed to give the reader a concrete understanding of how health care has been involved with other social and economic issues in the modern history. The essays are well the referenced, enabling further serious study.
The volume will be extremely useful as a reference for people already involved in public health and health policy, who want a greater breadth of knowledge about the interconnections between health and other development issues, whether social, political or economic. Likewise, the book will excellently serve individuals already concerned and/or involved in anti-globalization work, but uncertain of how health relates to protesting trade agreements, environmental degradation or militarism in the third world.
The book’s one weakness is its failure to describe the struggle for health care rights in the USA. The struggle for health care as a human right and the broad agreement that the current market-driven US health system is in shambles must be an important facet of the worldwide struggle. The book does acknowledge that US-based corporations are exporting the privatization of health services, health products and the natural resources which support health. But the logical and important conclusion that this movement towards privatization might be fought most effectively by aligning US progressive forces with international human rights concerns does not become clear anywhere in the book.
A chapter could easily have been included on the struggle for health care rights in the USA, the grassroots struggle parallel to the work of the People’s Health Movement in other countries. Especially, the grassroots, state level and local struggles in the USA for a right to health care should not have been left out, as they so closely parallel the struggles in less wealthy nations and are making such determined progress at this moment. Readers might have also enjoyed learning about the struggle for maintaining single-payer national health care in Canada against the assault from companies trying to invade from their southern neighbor. Leading Canadian organizations appreciate the important role of the US movement against the commodification and privatization of health care resources. Educating US workers about their worsening deprivation of health resources under the current schemes of privatization is vital to weakening the base of globalization and raising the standard everywhere.
These books by Lakoff are correct in outlining the major mistakes made recently by the Democratic Party, however there is little insight beyond that which most progressive activists are already well aware. I would recommend reading just the final Part VI of "Moral Politics" which finally makes the point that the only problem with the Conservative Republican worldview is that it does not correspond with reality (a minor flaw!).
Similar to the Lakoff books this popular book rightfully critiques the Democratic Party and their failure to speak to much of middle America. I thought it was better written and more interesting than Lakoff's books but still was weak in showing both the flaws (lack of correspondence to the real world) in the Conservative worldview and how progressives should exploit those failings.
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