Thursday, October 13, 2005
Articles on Inequality and Health
Summary points
Determinants of population health differ from those affecting individual health
Population health in rich countries is determined primarily by the size of the gap between rich and poor
The United States ranks behind all other rich countries and a few poor ones in health outcomes such as life expectancy
Globalization, or corporate-centered trade, increases the gap between the rich and poor within and among countries
Policies that promote substantial corporate subsidies and increase the rich-poor gap can be changed to improve population health
From Is Globalization Dangerous to Our Health?
* * *
Consider the healthiest country in the world, Japan. Fifty-five years ago when we were one of the healthiest countries in the world, right after World War II, Japan was less healthy compared to other countries than we are today. Yet the USA gave it the medicine it needed to become the healthiest country in the world by 1978. The medicine was prescribed by the greatest population health doctor who ever lived, General Douglas MacArthur. The medicine administered during our occupation of that country from 1945 to 1950 had 3 ingredients and I will review them here. The first was demilitarization. Japan was forbidden to have an army. The second ingredient was democratization, as MacArthur wrote the country's constitution, providing for a representative democracy, free universal education, the right of labor unions to organize and engage in collective bargaining, and the right of everyone to a decent life. The third D was decentralization, as MacArthur broke up the 11 family zaibatsu that ran the huge corporations that controlled the country. He legislated a maximum wage for the country of the equivalent of $4333 in US dollars. He also carried out the most successful land reform program in history. What this did is bring down the economic hierarchy, and level the playing field. The resulting rise in health is the most rapid ever seen on the planet.
From Health and Poverty in the US
Determinants of population health differ from those affecting individual health
Population health in rich countries is determined primarily by the size of the gap between rich and poor
The United States ranks behind all other rich countries and a few poor ones in health outcomes such as life expectancy
Globalization, or corporate-centered trade, increases the gap between the rich and poor within and among countries
Policies that promote substantial corporate subsidies and increase the rich-poor gap can be changed to improve population health
From Is Globalization Dangerous to Our Health?
* * *
Consider the healthiest country in the world, Japan. Fifty-five years ago when we were one of the healthiest countries in the world, right after World War II, Japan was less healthy compared to other countries than we are today. Yet the USA gave it the medicine it needed to become the healthiest country in the world by 1978. The medicine was prescribed by the greatest population health doctor who ever lived, General Douglas MacArthur. The medicine administered during our occupation of that country from 1945 to 1950 had 3 ingredients and I will review them here. The first was demilitarization. Japan was forbidden to have an army. The second ingredient was democratization, as MacArthur wrote the country's constitution, providing for a representative democracy, free universal education, the right of labor unions to organize and engage in collective bargaining, and the right of everyone to a decent life. The third D was decentralization, as MacArthur broke up the 11 family zaibatsu that ran the huge corporations that controlled the country. He legislated a maximum wage for the country of the equivalent of $4333 in US dollars. He also carried out the most successful land reform program in history. What this did is bring down the economic hierarchy, and level the playing field. The resulting rise in health is the most rapid ever seen on the planet.
From Health and Poverty in the US
