Advocates Beatrice Adler-Bolton and Artie Vierkant say health communism isn’t about tweaking the current healthcare system but ending a system in which only those deemed ​“productive” or ​“deserving” are allowed to live well. Instead, care should be guaranteed to all — because we exist, not because we work. 

Under capitalism, care is often tied to productivity. But as Adler-Bolton and Vierkant argue in their book, Health Communism, that logic is the problem. Sickness, disability and aging aren’t anomalies; they’re part of being human. A truly humane health system, then, would not treat nonproductivity as a defect. 

Under the current system, many people — especially the chronically ill, disabled, elderly and institutionalized — are treated as ​“surplus populations,” expensive burdens to be managed. Health communism sees their liberation as central to the fight for justice.

The post Under Health Communism, Care Is A Human Right appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.