Something to keep in mind over the summer

The right to grant is also the right to deny.

When thinking of healthcare as a “right” recall our Constitution and, in particular, the Bill of Rights. The first ten amendments are negative in fashion, in that they are explicit in what the government cannot do rather than what the government can do ("There shall be no law…").

The going-in position of the Founders was “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. That’s license for a rock’n’roll lifestyle by anyone’s definition. Any constraints on the “pursuit”, however, would be self-imposed and would certainly not be within the purview of the federal government.

Despite its hallowed status, health care is really no different than automotive care, home-owner’s insurance, food, water, shelter or any other goods and services that we shop for and purchase out-of-pocket. To view it as a right granted by the government is to invite abuse of that same supposed right by that same government.

Theodore Dalrymple ties together the concepts of liberty and health care as a right in fine fashion, here.