Reviews for Health Care Reform: Ethics and Politics

The average rating for Health Care Reform: Ethics and Politics based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-12-02 00:00:00 Richard Chappell This book stems from a series of lectures that Lawler gave during various occasions. Each chapter is meant to stand alone so overlap is inevitable. There is much to laud in this collection, and it would be too much to convey in a Goodreads review. It seems above all Lawler tries to strike an even-handed tone about our given situation. That situation being that we have come to understand ourselves as autonomous individuals who are self-sufficient and messianic. Our perceived autonomy, self-sufficiency, and messianism all come from our ability to manipulate our reality via technology (Lawler focuses on biotechnology often in this book). And while this book does not advocate for some Luddite-style resistance, it does ask us to stop and consider the costs of moving forward without proper thought and articulation. Preferred chapters: -Postmodern Conservatism, Conservative Postmodernism -The Limits of the American Utopian Imagination -The Caregiving Society -Putting Locke in the Locke Box Lawler's various diagnoses are insightful and poignant. However, his premise that we are "stuck with virtue" and unlikely to manifest our greatest technological and medical dreams due to some innate conscience is little revealed, ill-thought out, and poorly explained. His analysis of the current milieu is by far he best aspect of this book.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-12-28 00:00:00 Mike Sommers Dr. Lawler has a very engaging writing style. His book was very enjoyable to read.