“HEALTHCARE IS A HUMAN RIGHT” HAS REAL
MEANING
THE MORAL AND ETHICAL IMPERATIVE INHERENT
in the CORE VALUES of a DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY
(1) MAXIMIZE PERSONAL POTENTIAL
(HEALTHY STATES, food, housing, education,
employment, security)
(2) COMPASSION and CARING (relieve
individual pain, suffering and anxiety)
(3) SOCIAL and ECONOMIC JUSTICE (provide
for the vulnerable )
(4) CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY (society as a
participatory commonwealth)
“Something is profoundly wrong with the way we live today. For thirty years we have
made a virtue out of the pursuit of material self-interest: indeed, this very pursuit now
constitutes whatever remains of our sense of collective purpose. We know what things
cost but have no idea what they are worth. We no longer ask of a judicial ruling or a
legislative act: Is it good? Is it fair? Is it just? Is it right? Will it help bring about a better
society or a better world?
“The materialistic and selfish quality of contemporary life is not inherent in the
human condition. Much of what appears "natural" today dates from the 1980s: the
obsession with wealth creation, the cult of privatization and the private sector, the
growing disparities of rich and poor. And above all, the rhetoric that accompanies these:
uncritical admiration for unfettered markets, disdain for the public sector, the delusion
of endless growth.
“If we do no more than pick up the pieces and carry on as before, we can look
forward to greater upheavals in years to come.
“And yet we seem unable to conceive of alternatives. This too is something new.”
Ill Fares the Land,
By Tony Judt, THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS, APRIL 29, 2010
“The moral of Katrina is mostly being missed….The cause was political through and
through �- a matter of values and principles. The progressive-liberal values are
America's values, and we need to go back to them. The heart of progressive-liberal
values is simple: empathy (caring about and for people) and responsibility (acting
responsibly on that empathy). These values translate into a simple principle: Use
the common wealth for the common good to better all our lives. In short,
promoting the common good is the central role of government.”
GEORGE LAKOFF
“THERE’S BEEN A COUP D’ETAT IN THE UNITED STATES AND
GOLDMAN SACHS WON”
--- Michael Moore “Capitalism: A Love Story
George Soros harshly criticizes true believers in the wonders of unregulated free
markets, an ideology he calls "market fundamentalism.“
“Market fundamentalists... [claim] that the common interest is best served by
everybody looking out for his own interests. This claim is false...There are many political
and social objectives which are not properly served by the market mechanism... These
include the preservation of competition and of stability in financial markets, not to
mention issues like the environment and social justice.
"By promoting market values into a governing principle, market fundamentalism has
undermined our society. Representative democracy presupposes moral values, such as
honesty and integrity, particularly in our representatives. When success takes
precedence over integrity, and politics is dominated by money, the political process
deteriorates."
“TO THEIR MISFORTUNE, DEMOCRATS IN RECENT YEARS HAVE NOT SPOKEN
CONVINCINGLY ABOUT SELF-GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITY…..FOR UNLIKE
CONSERVATISM, CONTEMPORARY LIBERALISM LACKS A SECOND VOICE, OR
COMMUNAL STRAND. ITS PREDOMINENT IMPULSE IS INDIVIDUALISTIC.
LIKE LAISSE-FAIRE CONSERVATIVES, LIBERALS BELIEVE THAT GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE
NEUTRAL ON MORAL AND RELIGIOUS QUESTIONS….THEY BELIEVE GOVERNMENT
SHOULD PROTECT PEOPLE’S RIGHTS, NOT PROMOTE CIVIC VIRTUE….
“A POLITICS THAT BRACKETS MORALITY AND RELIGION TOO COMPLETELY SOON
GENERATES ITS OWN DISENCHANTMENT. WHERE POLITICAL DISCOURSE LACKS MORAL
RESONANCE, THE YEARNING FOR A PUBLIC LIFE OF LARGER MEANING FINDS ITS OWN
EXPRESSION.
“THE CHRISTIAN COALITION AND OTHER SIMILAR GROUPS SEEK TO CLOTHE THE
NAKED PUBLIC SQUARE WITH NARROW, INTOLERANT MORALISMS.
FUNDAMENTALISTS RUSH IN WHERE LIBERALS FEAR TO TREAD….A POLITICAL AGENDA
LACKING SUBSTANTIVE MORAL DISCOURSE IS ONE SYMPTOM OF THE PROCEDURAL
REPUBLIC.”
MICHAEL SANDEL, PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT, HARVARD UNIVERSITY 2005
www.justiceharvard.org
Religious and Free-Market Fundamentalism Have More in Common Than
Their Fans in the Tea Party
“Because fundamentalists are ideologically driven, they tend to reject basic facts that do not
comport with their ideology. Religious fundamentalists have unyielding faith in the literal veracity
of the Bible and consequently dispute all conflicting science, such as the theory of evolution. By
the same token, free-market fundamentalists dispute basic facts that call into question the
efficiency and fairness of strict laissez-faire economics.
“Since the fundamentalists' extreme views usually do not square with the facts, they commonly
proceed to make up their own facts, resorting to disinformation and conspiracy theories. As such,
religious fundamentalists have claimed that the theory of evolution is a "fraud.“ Free-market
fundamentalists have likewise resorted to glaring misrepresentations in order to defend their
ideology. Partisans of deregulation have notably challenged the Obama administration's health
care reform by claiming that America provides better and cheaper access to medical treatment
than nations with universal health care, whose systems are less market-driven and more regulated.
While fundamentalists are adamant that an unregulated market efficiently provides for everyone's
health care, the opposite is true. America is the only developed country allowing insurance
companies to profit from basic health coverage.
“Indifference toward the plight of the uninsured illustrates a salient feature of fundamentalism:
obliviousness towards the social costs of ideological purity. Religious fundamentalists have
displayed an equivalent indifference to the social costs of their purist ideology.”
By Mugambi Jouet, Truthout Saturday, 21 July 2012
Franklin D. Roosevelt “The Economic Bill of Rights”
Excerpt from 11 January 1944 message to Congress on the State of the Union
“We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom
cannot exist without economic security and independence. “Necessitous men
are not free men.” People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of
which dictatorships are made.
In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak,
a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all—
regardless of station, race, or creed.
Among these are:
The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;
The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a
decent living;
The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair
competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;
The right of every family to a decent home;
The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and
unemployment;
The right to a good education.
All of these rights spell security….America’s own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon
how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for our citizens.”
SINGLE PAYER LEGISLATION
(STATE/FEDERAL) SB810, HR676
ELECTED GOVERNMENT
(STATE/FEDERAL)
STUDENTS
ADVOCACY/
EDUCATION
COMMUNITY ORGANIZING/
EDUCATION
MORAL PASSION
FRAMING
DIRECT ACTION
PROFESSIONAL/TECHNICAL
ANALYSIS
(EPI STUDIES/DRAFT LAWS)