The Politics and Ethics of Health Care

Harvard FAS

This course looks at contemporary debates about health care, with a focus on the ways in which political theory can inform our understanding of its moral and political dimensions. Using case studies as a launching point, we will explore ideas about autonomy, paternalism, beneficence, and distributive justice, and their application to issues such as informed consent, medical privacy, the right to refuse care, and the distribution of scarce medical resources. The course also introduces students…