Viewpoint Pope John said it: Justice before
charity
By NEVE GORDON
Although having health insurance has
become a privilege that many cannot afford, I was not enthusiastic when Vice
President Al Gore promised, if elected president, to launch a new program
guaranteeing every child access to health care.
On the one hand, I find it hard to believe that the vice president
truly intends to implement such a program; on the other, I disagree with
Gores rationale.
In contrast to Clintons 1992 call for universal health care,
Gores proposal appeals to his constituents paternal feelings, while
failing to address societys structural inequities. There are two central
problems with Gores approach.
First, he is unwilling to make any commitments that will upset the
powers that be. Reinitiating a universal health plan or even demanding a
substantial increase in minimum wage that would enable people to afford health
insurance are two ways one could honestly face the fact that 43 million
citizens do not have health insurance. Yet Gore eschews advancing such
proposals because they would not be well received among the business community
-- a community he is dependent upon for campaign financing.
The second problem has to do with Gores conception of health
care. Instead of treating health care as a basic right -- as it is considered
by a variety of international conventions to which the United States is a
signatory -- Gore conceives it to be something government may, and perhaps
should, choose to provide the poor. In other words, charity, not justice,
motivates Gores proposal.
While offering health services to uninsured children, Gores
administration would abdicate its responsibility toward millions of adults.
Once one conceives health care to be a right, it becomes clear that failing to
secure health care to all citizens, not only to children, is an act of
violation and abuse.
Perhaps most disturbing about Gores approach is that it is
so prevalent. It has become common practice for corporations that exploit
workers, paying them paltry wages, to donate money to philanthropic projects.
Indeed, they use charity in order to promulgate a benevolent image. The amount
they confer on these projects is, of course, meager when compared with their
overall profits.
Political philosopher Hannah Arendt states that Pope John XXIII
was clear about this issue. She relates the story of how one day, while walking
with his aides through the Vatican, the pope asked one of the workers whom he
happened to pass in the corridor how things were going.
Badly, replied the worker. He told the pope how much
he earned and how many mouths he needed to feed. The pope immediately
instructed his aides to raise the salaries in the Vatican. Later, when told
that the new expenses could be met only by cutting down on charities, he
remained unperturbed: Then we will have to cut them
for justice
comes before charity.
The popes words were prophetic, considering the fact that
charity is widely used by corporations and politicians to conceal iniquities.
It is time to appropriate his insight and to replace the appeal to charity with
an appeal to justice.
Neve Gordon teaches at Ben Gurion University in Israel and can
be reached at ngordon@bgumail.ac.il
National Catholic Reporter, December 3,
1999
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