Health: The false promise for longevity and well-being

George Kararach ()

Chapter 5 in Liberating Economics From Ideologies and Dystopia, 2025, pp 61-74 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: In neoliberal economics, health encapsulates longevity and illness-free days each year for individuals. Since human beings are nothing but individualistic utility maximisers, then, it logically follows that health is desired by human beings because it generates utilities. Utility is generated from health in two ways. First, ill-health is painful, which is a source of disutility. Therefore, health enters the individual utility function directly with a positive influence on welfare. Second, better health means more sick-free days available for an individual. With these sick-free days, one can go to the market and produce income (which ultimately turns into commodities) and leisure that ultimately generates utility. Good health promises individuals both a joyous and productive life as well as a dynamic economy. However, the peculiarities of healthcare make neoliberal theory unsuited to guiding policy and practice. Moreover, neoliberal health economists often abandon Paretian welfare considerations to focus on needs instead. Problems relating to uncertainty and externalities in health are widespread and undermine the promise of an inherently “joyous” life. While health itself is a universal need, needs for healthcare provision are largely involuntary, varied and idiosyncratic. These issues have important consequences for the planning of healthcare systems and the extent of transaction costs in any market-based system.

Keywords: Health; Longevity and well-being; Productive life; Ageing; Neoliberalism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035316175
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