As inequality reaches unprecedented heights in America, there is growing—and increasingly realistic—concern for social and political stability. Although inequality could be redressed by explicit redistribution, political gridlock in Washington and in many states makes this solution unlikely, and potentially economically disruptive. Yet many Americans, hostile to redistribution, are sympathetic to the need to create […]
Category Archives: Third Era
The third era is an exciting time to be in public health. It means not just badgering individuals about their health behaviors, but working across sectors to ensure the conditions in which people can pursue health. And it recognizes health as a resource for everyday living. But while the third era of public health has […]
It’s time to put a floor under the price of gasoline. The climate talks going on in Paris this week will determine how many hundreds of millions of people will be displaced by climate change. At stake is whether the planet warms by 4 degrees Celsius, or only about 2 degrees. The effects of a […]
We can’t do good public health if we don’t recognize it when we see it. Without an adequate definition, the unique lens of public health is fuzzy. In writing about the future of public health in 1988, an IOM committee pronounced public health to be “in disarray.” Part of the problem was a generally fuzzy […]