Best Of 2023: Neoliberalism and Public Health w/ Adia Benton
Dec 28, 2023
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Cultural anthropologist Adia Benton discusses how neoliberalism affects public health interventions and depoliticizes political issues. They analyze the US COVID response, the CDC's involvement in investigating the Atlanta child murders, and the importance of community-centered health models during the pandemic.
Expanding the public health mandate should involve concrete action and investment to address structural causes of issues like racism and police violence, rather than depoliticizing them.
Austerity measures and outsourcing in public health hinder the ability to effectively respond to health crises, creating fragmented data systems and prioritizing cost-effectiveness over structural solutions.
Efforts to expand public health often get watered down by normalizing neoliberal norms, limiting transformative change in addressing societal issues like poverty and racism.
Deep dives
Expansion of public health mandate without infrastructure
The public health mandate has expanded in terms of addressing issues like racism and police violence, but the infrastructure and support to effectively tackle these issues are lacking. Calling racism a public health threat without concrete action or investment leads to depoliticization of the issue and superficial interventions. The expansion of the public health mandate should involve grappling with the underlying structural causes and making investments to address them.
Austerity and outsourcing in public health
Austerity measures have stripped public health institutions of resources, leading to outsourcing of crucial services. This outsourcing, in turn, hinders the ability to effectively respond to health crises like COVID-19. Third-party contractors are often hired, creating fragmented data systems and depoliticizing public health interventions. The focus becomes cost-effectiveness rather than addressing larger structural problems.
Normalization of neoliberal norms
Efforts to expand public health and address social issues like poverty or racism often get watered down or co-opted by normalizing neoliberal norms. Calls for change are met with superficial interventions that center around metrics and data without addressing the underlying structural causes. The push for public health for all is dampened by the desire to return to a pre-pandemic normal, which limits the potential for transformative change.
The CDC's role in Atlanta child murders
The CDC's involvement in the Atlanta child murders highlights the depoliticization of public health and the focus on individual factors rather than addressing systemic issues. The CDC's investigation treated the murders like a foodborne outbreak, focusing on individual characteristics of the victims rather than addressing the larger sociopolitical context. This approach reflects a neoliberal tendency to blame families and individuals while neglecting structural factors.
The Smallpox Eradication Effort and the Order of the Bifurcated Needle
The podcast discusses the importance of the smallpox eradication effort led by Bill Fagge, a renowned figure in global health. Fagge was part of the Order of the Bifurcated Needle, a group of medical doctors involved in delivering the smallpox vaccine through bifurcated needles. This effort played a crucial role in eradicating smallpox and highlights the significance of vaccination in public health.
Rethinking Public Health and Addressing Social Factors
The podcast explores how Bill Fagge, as the director of the CDC, aimed to redefine the role of the CDC and its approach to public health. Fagge focused on distinguishing the CDC from other health agencies by emphasizing prevention rather than clinical lab work. Additionally, he wanted the CDC to address social issues, notably violence and conflict. While these ideas faced resistance initially, Fagge's push to use epidemiological methods to tackle social problems highlighted the potential for public health to expand its mandate and address broader societal concerns.
As we send off 2023, we’re releasing a series of some of our favorite episodes of the year—including some newly unlocked episodes that have previously only been available to patrons. This episode was originally released for Death Panel patrons on February 27th, 2023. To support the show and help make episodes like this one possible, become a patron at www.patreon.com/deathpanelpod.
Original description: Bea and Abby speak with Adia Benton about how neoliberalism constrains what public health interventions are considered possible while simultaneously expanding what political issues can be depoliticized as simply a "public health issue." We also look at some of Adia's statements from early in the pandemic on the role of austerity in shaping the covid response, and discuss how development and NGO work shapes the political economy of health.
Find our book Health Communism here: www.versobooks.com/books/4081-health-communism
Pre-order Jules' new book here:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/733966/a-short-history-of-trans-misogyny-by-jules-gill-peterson/
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As always, support Death Panel at www.patreon.com/deathpanelpod
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