1 post tagged “marx”
http://health.yahoo.com/news/178301
The link is for the article I'm sure you've heard about: the one that says that America has slipped to #41, in terms of life expectancy.
They say it's due to disparities between black and white, insured and not. I think it boils down to one reason, and one reason, alone: capitalism. Marx may be discredited for some of his wilder notions, but I still haven't seen a better analysis of the fundamentals of western society. We buy and sell our labor, and get alienated from our own lives. The richer get power, the poorer get killed. The middle class gets a choice. Do we side with the powerless and poor, or do we side with the rich and powerful? By voodoo thinking, the middle class historically sides with the rich, in the hopes that it'll rub off, but the rich aren't sharing power. There's only one way that power gets distributed, and that when the middle class sides with the powerless in an attempt to re-distribute the power. I don't believe that the equation needs force, but the possibility of force needs to be there. I believe that the tables can turn slowly, law by law, and piece by piece.
So, why is it that Black Men die young? I think it has to do with Crime, and Poverty. I think they turn to Crime because that's he avenue they are most often given. Were the roles to be reversed, I think White Men would do the same.
Why is it that millions are uninsured? Because money and power are involved. It's not enough to keep people poor. Simply poor people can riot, can enact laws, and can find justice. Disenfranchised, alienated, powerless and poor people just get exploited. So, if they make it impossible for poor folks to get adequate preventative health care, it's pretty hard for the poor to feel like they're not in a constant struggle just to survive. If I take away a dollar from you, you'll take it back. If I steal a dollar, you'll look for the thief. But, if I tell you that your life costs a dollar, and refuse to pay you any more than that, you'll try to make do with that dollar. If we start to think that our lives are worth more than dollars, power shifts.
But, hey, these are just my thoughts! I could be open to the criticism that I just got laid off, and that has colored my thinking. This would ignore that I just got another job, that pays the same, and that I've got leads for jobs that pay more, but I'm still open to charges of bitterness, and rancor, I guess. I'm not really all that good at defending my thoughts, because I don't feel I have to. If I'm right, you'll agree. If I'm wrong, you'll disagree. That won't necessarily change what I think, but it doesn't seem like that big of a deal to me. So, have a coke and a smile. Just tell me why you can't see the dentist, afterwards....
