The documentary Sicko provides us with an analysis of the United States healthcare system. The documentary compares and contrasts they US healthcare system to that of other countries. The main emphasis of the documentary is on efficiency and productivity which results in the profit orientated system. “Sicko” suggests that the current U.S healthcare system replicates what is described by Karl Marx in his conflict theory. His conflict theory is where the system is used to create inequality, which broadens the gap between the rich and the poor. Following Marx’s conflict perspective, the documentary discusses two ways in which people are controlled. One is through being frightened, and the other is demoralization. Much like the war in the Middle …show more content…
The documentary compares the U.S. system with other systems that have a socialist foundation, such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and France. In these countries health care is free and drug costs are low. In the U.S., before receiving treatment, insurance information needs to be collected in order to ensure payment. If you have no insurance, the visit has to be paid for up front or you are left with utilizing the Emergency Room. In countries with socialized medicine, healthcare is never denied to someone who cannot afford it. As the documentary states, most healthcare in other countries is free, and is paid for with …show more content…
The sole law in Marxism is that the State is supreme, and anything that goes against the State is a crime. For example, being a Christian (or Muslim, or Hindu or Judaism, ) is a crime, since, for certain things, you believe that your religious belief has the answer to part of life’s problems, and not the State.
Also, the act that you perform, that is considered a crime, is treated as more severe, or less severe, depending on whether the government is Marxist or a civil government, like we have in America. For example, spitting on a statue of George Washington might be a minor crime, with a ten dollar fine, in America. It’s because spitting on any statue is a nuisance, that someone has to clean off. But, in a Marxist State (true communism), spitting on a statue of a prominent figure would be a very serious crime, worthy of maybe two years in
“Socialized Medicine.” The term throws shivers through the American population. For some this brings great joy. They see a world where they can visit a doctor and get the medicine they need for little or no cost. Others, however, see a world of rationed care and long waits for procedures. “Socialism” is the term that bothers. It sticks deep in the American psyche, conjuring up images from the Russian Revolution and George Orwell’s Animal Farm. In Animal Farm, the animals experience a very oppressive leader, and it represents the cruelty of the Stalin Regime. Some wonder where they might fall in the hierarchy of animals that Orwell laid out. In the current healthcare system “all animals are equal but some are more equal than others”. (Orwell) America is built on the assumption that “all men are created equal” but there is a hot debate about how that equal access to healthcare should look. Access to healthcare is a basic human right that provides economic benefits and makes for a more fair and just society.
During the study of various reforms that were proposed and denied, both the GOP and Democrats attempted to find a balance that would guarantee the success of their proposals. Years of research, growing ideologies, political views and disregard for the country's constitution sparked an array of alternatives to solve the country's healthcare spending. The expenditure of US healthcare dollars was mostly due to hospital reimbursements, which constitute to 30% (Longest & Darr, 2008). During the research for alternatives, the gr...
On a global scale, the United States is a relatively wealthy country of advanced industrialization. Unfortunately, the healthcare system is among the costliest, spending close to 18% of gross domestic product (GDP) towards funding healthcare (2011). No universal healthcare coverage is currently available. United States healthcare is currently funded through private, federal, state, and local sources. Coverage is provided privately and through the government and military. Nearly 85% of the U.S. population is covered to some extent, leaving a population of close to 48 million without any type of health insurance. Cost is the primary reason for lack of insurance and individuals foregoing medical care and use of prescription medications.
Health care in America tends to be a gray area for citizens without prior experience with medical issues. Michael Moore an American filmmaker discusses in his documentary “Sicko” the unpleasant experience some Americans had to go through because of our health care system. Moore implements humor to his documentary by inserting comical music, images, and narration in spots that help his argument gain attention. He also travels abroad to places like Canada, France, and Cuba, where universal health care is supported. He does this in order to provide reason why universal health care is a good ideas by capturing the different emotions and opinions of individuals in those countries versus what people think in America. In addition, Moore provides evidence on why the United States should adopt a different health care system by providing facts like the life expectancy and cost of health care in America compared to other countries. Michael Moore’s main goal is to inform the audience as well as introduce his argument that our health care system is inadequate and that better solutions are out there like universal health care.
Davidson, Stephen M. Still Broken: Understanding the U.S. Health Care System. Stanford, CA: Stanford Business, 2010. Print.
Society is flawed. There are critical imbalances in it that cause much of humanity to suffer. In, the most interesting work from this past half-semester, The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx is reacting to this fact by describing his vision of a perfectly balanced society, a communist society. Simply put, a communist society is one where all property is held in common. No one person has more than the other, but rather everyone shares in the fruits of their labors. Marx is writing of this society because, he believes it to be the best form of society possible. He states that communism creates the correct balance between the needs of the individual and the needs of society. And furthermore thinks that sometimes violence is necessary to reach the state of communism. This paper will reflect upon these two topics: the relationship of the individual and society, and the issue of violence, as each is portrayed in the manifesto.
The film Sicko (2007), is about the misfortune and distress associated with the American health care system and how it compares to those in several foreign countries where universal health care is the norm. The audience explores Moore’s rhetorical strategies and how he represents the issue of health care, with the goal of gaining support from the rest of society for his cause. Michael Moore made this film that has the purpose to especially inform the American audience about the current health system in America and the terrible system created in America that is sometimes deadly. The filmmaker used emotion, reason, creditable people, counter arguments and humor/irony to develop his argument that the American health system is terrible to citizens.
Despite the established health care facilities in the United States, most citizens do not have access to proper medical care. We must appreciate from the very onset that a healthy and strong nation must have a proper health care system. Such a health system should be available and affordable to all. The cost of health services is high. In fact, the ...
Marxism is a method of analysis based around the concepts developed by the two German philosophers Karl Marx and Fredrich Engel, centered around the complexities of social-relations and a class-based society. Together, they collaborated their theories to produce such works as The German Ideology (1846) and The Communist Manifesto (1848), and developed the terms ‘’proletariat’ and ’bourgeois’ to describe the working-class and the wealthy, segmenting the difference between their respective social classes. As a result of the apparent differences, Marxism states that proletariats and bourgeoisie are in constant class struggle, working against each other to amount in a gain for themselves.
An issue that is widely discussed and debated concerning the United States’ economy is our health care system. The health care system in the United States is not public, meaning that the states does not offer free or affordable health care service. In Canada, France and Great Britain, for example, the government funds health care through taxes. The United States, on the other hand, opted for another direction and passed the burden of health care spending on individual consumers as well as employers and insurers. In July 2006, the issue was transparency: should the American people know the price of the health care service they use and the results doctors and hospitals achieve? The Wall Street Journal article revealed that “U.S. hospitals, most of them nonprofit, charged un-insured patients prices that vastly exceeded those they charged their insured patients. Driving their un-insured patients into bankruptcy." (p. B1) The most expensive health care system in the world is that of America. I will talk about the health insurance in U.S., the health care in other countries, Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, and my solution to this problem.
Sicko, a film by Michael Moore was released in 2007. The film investigates health care system in the United States. One would definitely get amazed by the facts and figures explained in this documentary. The movie explains failing health care system in the United States. America has advance medical technology, big hospitals, and educated health care professionals, but these facilities are not universal. The film starts by talking about true American stories; what some people have experienced from current health care system, those who had and did not had health insurances. The story starts by Adam, one of 50 million people in America who does not have health insurance. Due to an accident Adam required a medical treatment, but for the reason of not having any insurance he puts stitches on his leg by himself. The second story was about Rick, who accidentally cut the top of his two fingers, middle and the ring while working on the table saw. As a result of not having health insurance, Rick could not put the top of his middle finger back because it was costing 60,000 dollars and he did not had the money. So, he decided to put his ring finger back because it cost 12,000 dollars which he could afford. The movie does not go into the detail of 50 million people who do not have health insurance, but it’s about 250 million Americans who do have health insurance.
The American Health Care system has prided itself on providing high quality services to the citizens who normally cannot afford them. This system has been in place for years and until now it did a fairly decent job. The problem today is money; the cost of hospital services and doctor fees are rising faster than ever before. The government has been trying to come up with a new plan these past few years even though there has been strong opposition against a new Health Care system. There are many reasons why it should be changed and there are many reasons why it shouldn’t be changed. The main thing that both sides heads towards is money. Both sides want to save money just in different ways.
The documentary stated that over that 47 million Americans do not have healthcare coverage. 7% of Americans reports very good to excellent health. 37% of lower income Americans has poor health (California Newsreel, 2008). The middle class numbers are not too far from the lower class. Good health decreases significantly as the socioeconomic class status gets lower. “Low income increases one’s exposure to a host of health risks, such as crime, poor housing, and poor nutrition. Conversely, sick people both tend to work less and tend to accrue medical bills, thus lowering their household earnings and accumulated wealth. Therefore, low income can damage health, and sickness can lead to the loss of income” (Peter Muennig, 2008). This increases the
In the past centuries, health care was the responsibility of individuals and their own families but today Medicine comes to be an institution only as societies are more productive and people take on specialized work. At the same time as people become dependent on governments and organizations to provide them their health care and insurance, here is the problem. Social conflict analysis points out the connection between health and social inequality. Following the ideas of Karl Marx, we can match health to the operation of capitalism. Most attention has gone to three main issues: access to medical care, the effects of the profit motive, and the politics of medicine.
Marxism derived from German philosophers Karl Marx (also a political economist/ sociologist) and Friedrich Engels in the middle of the 1800s. ‘Marxism is based on the idea that society is defined by the conflict between the ruling class (Bourgeoisie) and the working class (Proletariat) and these beings the two main classes’ (Hart, 2013). It states that those who have money and power in essence control society, and those without ways and means do not; and are at the mercy of the powerful and wealthy. In addition, Marxism considers the working class inferior to the ruling class as they get paid the lowest kind of pay and are removed from their work and is and exploited by their bosses (e.g. owners of the factory). Marxism also looks at/examines the social structure (structurally) and says that capitalism will ultimately fail (most likely through revolution such as what was seen in France among 1789 and 1799 and in Russia in 1917). In reference to the study of crime, to Marx the law is not something that upholds the interests of everyone but only the ruling class for instance white-collar crime would be encouraged to be ignored. Contrastingly, Functionalism which was first introduced by Emile Durkheim in 1894 and gained momentum in the mid-1900s, and believed that unlike Marxism which is dependent on that of the ruling class in society, e...