From: Arlo J. Bensinger (ajb102@psu.edu)
Date: Sun Jul 24 2005 - 16:06:19 BST
Hi Platt,
On "health care":
[Arlo previously]
My personal feeling, and I think yours may be too (if I understand correctly
that you do not object to EMT services being funded by tax dollars), is that
some health-services should be supported by a community, and others should be
left to the "free market".
[Platt]
> Yes. You have read my mind.
[Arlo previously]
One way to think about this is a continuum from "life saving" to "life
enhancing".
[Platt]
As I've argued before, "life saving" is a term with different meanings to
different people. You and I may agree as to what constitutes "saving" as
opposed to "enhancing," but others will disagree.
[Arlo]
Likely. My aim was not to argue specifics, but present one way of looking at the
spectrum of health care that could then be analyzed via the MOQ. "Life saving",
of course, Pirsig addresses in describing the value of the individual.
[Platt continues]
So the approach I would take is, following Pirsig's belief that democracy
"established the intellectual order over the social order" (and our own
agreement to appeal to the intellectual level in trying to come up with ideas
for a moral society) would be to leave such decisions up to local communities.
[Arlo]
I'd disagree only in that I think some services should never be denied an
individual because a majority votes against it. EMT serives I would propose is
one such item. Which leads me to believe that the end of the spectrum I call
"life saving" I don't think should ever be "majority wins". (Although I think a
community that votes away life saving medical services won't be a community for
long.)
[Platt continues]
Some will opt by democratic vote to tax themselves for more health services than
others. If an entire nation votes for universal health services, so be it.
[Arlo]
I think for what I've called life enhancing services I would not object at all
to community vote. But this does get back to "who" decides what is "life
saving" and what is "life enhancing". If its not a "community vote", it has to
be something/someone. The Supreme Court?
And what about something that is not necessarily life saving "in the moment"
such as screening for early detection and prevention? I don't have an answer
here.
[Platt continues]
From my knowledge of how other countries have fared under government health
programs, I would fight and vote against it. But just as I vote to be taxed to
support local firemen and policemen, I would vote to support ambulance service
and a nurse at the local public school.
Do this seem reasonable to you?
[Arlo]
But, what happens should the majority in your community vote against an
ambulence service? I'd say that violates MOQ morality of preserving the life of
the individual. So, while I agree with a vote for life-enhancing services, I
think that services that are life-saving should not be up to a vote.
As to who decides which is which, the Supreme Court is the only existing agency
(which is supposed to be excempt from the influence of HMOs, pharmaceutical
companies, hospital boards and the "whim" of the populace, for example) that
seems to make sense. But I don't know if that's a perfect solution either.
Arlo
> > [Arlo now adds]
> > Something that struck me yesterday (while out riding) was that according to
> > Csikszentmihaly, "Flow" requires a sustained level of challenge. That is,
> > you can't "Flow" if some necessity isn't driving you forward. A cyclist,
> > for example, finds flow in those times when her/his current skills are
> > being pushed at just the right degree to sustain motivation and push
> > her/his skills further. A mathematician will not find flow in solving basic
> > addition problems, but in a zone between what s/he knows and that next push
> > to something more, a push brought only about by some meaningful necessity
> > or goal. I just point this out because I know we've both expressed interest
> > in Csikszentmihaly's ideas.
>
> Glad you reminded me of this. It's been awhile since I thought of his
> "flow" thesis (you typed his name twice, I don't dare even once), but I
> agree all over again that he's on to something important. As you may
> remember, I'm into watercolor painting. From experience I know if I don't
> challenge myself by attempting something new, either subject matter or
> technique, I can get bored rather quickly. Of course, in painting there's
> such a wide gap between my meager abilities and that of the great ones
> that I sometimes wonder why I bother at all. Still, the old siren song of
> DQ keeps egging me on.
>
> Platt
>
>
>
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