Health Communism

In their book "Health Communism," Beatrice Adler-Bolton and Artie Vierkant argue for a new global left politics that aims to sever the ties between capital and health. They argue that capital has instrumentalized health, disability, madness, and illness to create a class of surplus individuals regarded as a fiscal and social burden. They propose a radical new politics of solidarity that centers the surplus and rejects the valuation of human life based on productivity within the current political economy.

Format: Hardback
Length: 240 pages
Publication date: 18 October 2022
Publisher: Verso Books

In this scorching theoretical tour de force, Beatrice Adler-Bolton and Artie Vierkant delve into the intricate dynamics of life and death under capitalism, advocating for a transformative global left politics aimed at dismantling the profound connections between capital and one of its most powerful tools: health. Co-hosts of the immensely popular Death Panel podcast and longstanding advocates for disability justice and healthcare reform, Adler-Bolton and Vierkant present Health Communism, a groundbreaking exploration of how capital has exploited health, disability, madness, and illness to create a class deemed surplus, perceived as both a fiscal and social burden. By distinguishing between the healthy and the surplus, the worker and the unfit to work, the authors argue that this classification serves not only to undermine solidarity but also to mark entire populations for extraction by the industries that have emerged to manage and contain this surplus population.

Health Communism then takes a critical look at the grave threat capital poses to global public health, highlighting the rare movements worldwide that have successfully challenged the extractive economy of health. Ultimately, Adler-Bolton and Vierkant assert that defeating capitalism will remain an elusive goal until we sever the health from capital. To achieve this, they propose a radical new politics of solidarity that centers on the surplus, grounded in the understanding that we must reject the notion that the value of human life should be determined by one's willingness or ability to contribute to the current political economy.

It is astonishing to discover that capital, in its twisted logic, actually fears health. The authors unveil a profound truth: health is the Achilles' heel of capitalism. By challenging the dominant narrative and advocating for a holistic approach to human well-being, Health Communism offers a roadmap for building a more equitable and sustainable world. This book is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the complex interplay between capital, health, and social justice and to work towards a future where health is truly valued and protected.

Weight: 312g
Dimension: 218 x 146 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781839765162