Public Health Betrayals

A fascinating reality of public health is that when it is working, nothing is happening. People are healthy, they participate in their community's welfare, and they themselves are likely to want to be more engaged in the culture's economic and pleasurable activities. But the problem with a negative reality like this suggests Laurie Garrett in Betrayal of Trust, is that there is a tendency for governments of all types -- democratic or authoritarian, and one might guess, even those in the news today that are in the midst of disarray -- to cut back on whatever services they have. With the end result being that people don't get to live or die right (2000:7).

Garrett shows why the underlying issue of organizing a community for health is not just a matter of medical, cultural or technological advancement. She goes through a variety of stories of how different...
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