Solidarity and Justice in Health and Social Care

In this timely book, Ruud ter Meulen argues that the current trend towards individual financial responsibility for health and social care should not be at the expense of the welfare of vulnerable and dependent individuals. Written with a multidisciplinary perspective, the book presents a new view of solidarity as a distinct concept from justice with respect to health and social care. It explains the importance of collective responsibility and takes the debate on access to healthcare beyond the usual framework of justice and rights. Academics from a range of backgrounds, including sociology, ethics, philosophy and policy studies will find new perspectives on solidarity and fresh ideas from other disciplines. Policymakers will better appreciate the contribution of family carers to the well-being of dependent and vulnerable people, and the importance of the support of solidarity in these types of care.

Preface; 1. Solidarity: backgrounds, concerns and claims; 2. The origins of solidarity as a sociological concept; 3. Solidarity and justice; 4. Solidarity and individual responsibility in Dutch health care; 5. Family solidarity and informal care; 6. Why we need solidarity.

Written for academics and policymakers working in health and social care, this timely book takes the debate on healthcare access beyond the usual framework of justice and rights. In particular, it analyses the importance of collective responsibility for the care of vulnerable and dependent individuals in society.

Ruud ter Meulen is Emeritus Professor of Ethics in Medicine at the University of Bristol. He was Director and Professor in Philosophy at the Institute of Bioethics and the Universiteit Maastricht, Netherlands before moving to Bristol in 2005. He is editor-in-chief of the volume Rethinking Cognitive Enhancement (2017) and has published more than 150 articles, chapters and books in medical ethics. He was a visiting Scholar at the Hastings Centre and the Brocher Foundation, Switzerland, and is currently President of the European Association of Centres for Medical Ethics (EACME).