Solidarity and Justice in Health Care. A Critical Analysis of their Relationship

Main Article Content

Ruud ter Meulen

Abstract

This article tries to analyze the meaning and relevance of the concept of solidarity as compared to the concept of justice. While ‘justice’ refers to rights and duties (Moralität), the concept of solidarity refers to relations of personal commitment and recognition (Sittlichkeit). The article wants to answer the question whether solidarity and liberal justice should be seen as mutually exclusive or whether both approaches should be regarded as complementary to each other. The paper starts with an analysis of liberal theories of justice which are followed by an analysis of the descriptive and a moral understanding of the concept of solidarity. The importance of solidarity lies in its relational aspects, particularly its emphasis on cooperation and commonality. The paper argues that while solidarity is more fundamental than justice, both concepts are important for the arrangement of health care practices. The paper gives special attention to the concept of decent care, reflective solidarity and humanitarian solidarity which is seen as fundamental for all health care policies and care practices.

Article Details

How to Cite
“Solidarity and Justice in Health Care. A Critical Analysis of Their Relationship”. 2015. Diametros, no. 43 (March): 1-20. https://doi.org/10.13153/diam.43.2015.710.
Section
Special Topic - Solidarity and Justice in Health Care
Author Biography

Ruud ter Meulen, University of Bristol

Ruud ter Meulen
Chair Ethics in Medicine
Director Centre for Ethics in Medicine
School of Social and Community Medicine
University of Bristol

Address:
Canynge Hall
39 Whatley Road
Bristol BS8 2PS
United Kingdom

E-mail: r.termeulen@bristol.ac.uk

How to Cite

“Solidarity and Justice in Health Care. A Critical Analysis of Their Relationship”. 2015. Diametros, no. 43 (March): 1-20. https://doi.org/10.13153/diam.43.2015.710.
Share |

References

Arts, Verburg [2001] – W. Arts, R. Verburg, Modernisation, Solidarity and Care in Europe. The Sociologist’s Tale, [in:] R. ter Meulen, W. Arts, R. Muffels (eds.), Solidarity in Health and Social Care in Europe, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht 2001, p. 15–39.

Bayertz [1999] – K. Bayertz, Four Uses of “Solidarity”, [in:] K. Bayertz (ed.), Solidarity. Philosophical Studies in Contemporary Culture, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Amsterdam, 1999, p. 3–28.

Bellah [1985] – R. Bellah, Habits of the Heart. Individualism and Commitment in American Life, Harper and Row, New York 1985.

Daniels [1985] – N. Daniels, Just Health Care, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1985.

Dean [1996] – J. Dean, Solidarity of Strangers: Feminism after Identity Politics, University of California Press, Berkeley 1996.

Elias [1971] – N. Elias, Sociologie en geschiedenis en andere essays, Van Gennep, Amsterdam 1971.

Engelhardt [1986] – H.T. Engelhardt, The Foundations of Bioethics, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, Oxford, New York 1986.

Held [2006] – V. Held, The Ethics of Care. Personal, Political and Global, Oxford University Press, New York 2006.

Jaeggi [2001] – R. Jaeggi, Solidarity and Indifference, [in:] R. ter Meulen, W. Arts and

R. Muffels (eds.), Solidarity in Health and Social Care in Europe, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, p. 287–308.

Habermas [1985] – J. Habermas, Die neue Unübersichtlichkeit, Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am Main 1985.

Honneth [1995] – A. Honneth, The Struggle for Recognition. The Moral Grammar of Social Conflicts, Polity Press, Cambridge 1995.

Houtepen, Meulen [2000a] – R. Houtepen, R. ter Meulen, “New Types of Solidarity in the European Welfare State,” Health Care Analysis (8) 2000, p. 329–340.

Houtepen, Meulen [2000b] – R. Houtepen, R. ter Meulen, “The Expectations of Solidarity: Matters of Justice, Responsibility and Identity in the Reconstruction of the Health Care System,” Health Care Analysis (8) 2000, p. 355–379.

Lorrain [1979] – J. Lorain, The Concept of Ideology, Hutchinson, London 1979.

Margalit [1996] – A. Margalit, The Decent Society, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA 1996.

Meulen, Made [2000] – R. ter Meulen, J. Van der Made, “The Extent and Limits of Solidarity in Dutch Health Care,” International Journal of Social Welfare (9) 2000, p. 250–260.

Meulen, Arts, Muffels [2001] – R. ter Meulen, W. Arts, R. Muffels (eds.), Solidarity in Health and Social Care in Europe, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht 2001.

Meulen, Maarse [2008] – R. ter Meulen, H. Maarse, “Increasing Individual Responsibility in Dutch Health Care: Is Solidarity Losing Ground?,” Journal of Medicine and Philosophy (33) 2008, p. 262–279.

Meulen [2011] – R. ter Meulen, “How ‘Decent’ is a Decent Minimum of Healthcare?,” Journal of Medicine and Philosophy (36) 2011, p. 612–623.

Meulen, Wright [2012] – R. ter Meulen, K. Wright, “Family Solidarity and Informal Care: The Case of Care for People with Dementia,” Bioethics (26/7) 2012, p. 361–368.

Meulen, Houtepen [2012] – R. ter Meulen, R. Houtepen, Solidarity, [in:] R. Chadwick (ed.), Encyclopaedia of Applied Ethics, Elsevier, Oxford 2012, p. 198–205.

Nagel [1989] – Th. Nagel, Rawls on Justice, [in:] N. Daniels (ed.), Reading Rawls, 2nd Edition, Stanford University Press, Stanford [1975] 1989, p. 1–16.

Nozick [1974] – R. Nozick, Anarchy, State and Utopia, Basic Books, New York 1974.

Nuffield Council [2009] – Nuffield Council on Bioethics, Dementia: Ethical Issues, Nuffield Council on Bioethics, London 2009.

Nuffield Council [2011] – Nuffield Council on Bioethics, Solidarity. Reflections on an Emerging Concept in Bioethics, Nuffield Council on Bioethics, London 2011.

Oorschot [1998] – W. van Oorschot, Shared Identity and Shared Utility. On Solidarity and Its Motives, Tilburg Institute for Social Sciences, Tilburg 1998.

Pasini, Reichlin [2001] – N. Pasini, M. Reichlin, Solidarity, Citizenship and Selective Distributive Justice in Health Care, [in:] R. ter Meulen, W. Arts, R. Muffels (eds.), Solidarity in Health and Social Care in Europe, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht 2001, p. 309–331.

Rawls [1989] – J. Rawls, A Theory of Justice, 11th Edition, Oxford University Press, Oxford [1971] 1989.

Sandel [1998] – M. Sandel, Liberalism and the Limits of Justice, 2nd Edition, Cambridge University Press, New York 1998.

Taylor [1997] – Ch. Taylor, Philosophical Arguments, 2nd Edition, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA 1997.

Tronto [1993] – J. Tronto, Moral Boundaries. A Political Argument for an Ethic of Care, Routledge, New York 1993.

Verburg, Meulen [2005] – R. Verburg, R. ter Meulen, “Solidariteit of rechtvaardigheid in de zorg? Een spanningsveld,” Sociale Wetenschappen (48/1/2) 2005, p. 11–30.

Wal [1988] – G.A. van der Wal, Solidair, hoe en waarom? Over de betekenis van solidariteit bij de bekostiging van de gezondheidszirg, [in:] F. Jacobs & G.A. Van der Wal (eds.), Medische schaarste en menselijk tekort, Ambo, Baarn 1988, p. 79–111.