The word healthcare is absent from both the
French Revolution and the American Revolution. The American Revolution and the
French Revolution both address the sentiment which is addressed in health care.
The French Revolution was concerned with the remedy
of right instead of privilege. This concept can thus be applied that health
care is a revolutionary goals because it makes healthcare a right rather than
privilege. The French Revolution also brought up the concept of economic
inequality which is mentioned in Burke. The question of healthcare could
easily be understood as a necessary right all humans need for survival. The
concept of economic inequality is present in the French Revolution.
The American Revolution included the word life many
times in their writing in the Declaration of Independence. Healthcare is
undisputedly used to promote life. The underpinnings of healthcare are in the
preamble to the constitution also hints at the necessity of such. The preamble
reads “ promote the general welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty.” The
necessity of a healthy population is written into the constitution. The general
welfare can easily be understood as making sure all Americans have adequate
medical care. “The blessings of liberty” can be understood as living a life
without the burden of a medical problem.
Both the French and the Americans would see
healthcare as a necessary goal. The French would see it as correcting a privilege.
The Americans would see it as promoting life.
Of course medicine has been practiced since the dawn of humanity, however, healthcare (in the sense of the contemporary notion) was inexistent for several reasons. In terms of physical restrictions the lack of technology, scarcity of individuals devoted to specialized training in this regard and the primitive understanding of pathology excuse the deficiency in Health Care. Abstractly, the revolutionary generation was one of sacrifice, bloodshed and societal tumult- all for the purpose of establishing fundamental human rights. This selflessness provided individuals of future generations with the privileges and liberties that make life wonderful and consequently worth prolonging. Thus we were entrusted with a mechanism that enables us to effectively develop institutions that perpetuate wellness and amplify the quality of life that was conceived by the revolutionaries.
ReplyDeleteThe concept of universal, pro bono healthcare was in fact present in North America & Europe in the early 19th century. Places like New France only required the wealthy to pay for healthcare, believing that healthcare was a right but still required funds to keep medicine alive. Monarchs and governments would in fact pay physicians especially during times of need (i.e. wars, battles, etc). For post-colonial America it wasn't till the 1820s that dispensaries and pharmacies would provide free care.
ReplyDeleteIt is totally reasonable to assume that healthcare equality was a sentiment during both revolutions, however, as George mentions it was unfeasible during a time when the priority was independence and there was a lack of medical knowledge and technology. The overall notion of equality made its way into the modern day perceptions on healthcare across liberal America and for the primary reason of entering the field--caring for others.