Samuel

A friend on Facebook recently asked me this;

“Why are the people enlightened enough to abhor socialized ~education~ and all it has wrought invariably the same people eager to jump on the socialized ~medicine~ bandwagon?!”

At first, I wasn’t sure how to answer. But here’s what I finally said.

“I prefer a socialized education system to a privatized, corporate one, although I see numerous flaws and failings in either system. I feel the same way about health care; I don’t think that socialized medicine will eliminate all (or even most) of my gripes with the health care system, but given the available options, I think it’s the best one. I certainly think that it’s better to remove the profit motive from health care, because in a system where health care is sold for profit there are all sorts of incentives for involved companies to cut corners and cut costs by keeping people from getting needed, lifesaving treatments. This is not to say that I think a socialized system will be without drawbacks, which American conservatives are quick to point out, only that it’s preferable to what we have now (which for many of us is absolutely nothing).

Overall, I generally think that people rely on ’systems’ – be they socialized, privatized, corporate, fascist, or theocratic, far more than is healthy. People should do more for themselves.

In terms of Health, I think we should feel empowered enough to do careful research about what lifestyles, nutrition, exercise, herbal remedies, and other alternative treatments will best suit us. Taking ownership over my own health has been one of the most empowering and enlightening things I have done in my life, and by eating healthy, whole food, I feel healthier than I ever have. This has nothing to do with any kind of health care system, but rather with a sense of personal ownership between me and my body, with no government or company interfering.

In terms of School, I think that people will be smarter, more informed, and in general better prepared to deal with the world to the degree that they take ownership of their own education. Sometimes, this is more possible in public/private partnership schools than it is in public schools. Sometimes, it is best achieved with no school at all. But I don’t think that means we should close all the schools. I think that socialized education is actually a wonderful thing, in principle. Even in the deeply dysfunctional way that it is currently practiced, it is a real benefit to communities to have publicly funded schools available.

So, in short, I separate the question of what a society should provide to its members from the question of what the responsibility of each member is. I would like to see a world where everyone takes responsibility from their own education, and for their own health. But I don’t think that’s likely, and therefore I think it’s a good idea to offer publicly funded education and publicly funded health care as an option for those who are unwilling or unable to take ownership of their own experience. I don’t think that either thing, education or health care, should be compulsory.

A final thought has to do with the inherent differences between education and health care. For the most part, with a little ingenuity and a willingness to ask for expert advice when it’s needed, I am able to educate myself about just about anything without a systematic, institutional program to provide me with the knowledge. By contrast, I would be hard pressed to perform my own open heart surgery, set my own broken leg, or even do my own routine dental work. So while there is a lot that an individual can do to be empowered and take charge of their own health preventatively, often when things go very badly an expert is really needed to intervene.

These are draft thoughts, and so I apologize for rambling a little (my ideas were developing as I typed). But I hope that whatever dissidence seemed to be present in my ideas has been cleared up.”

Any thoughts?