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Pathologies of power: Rethinking health and human rights

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  • Farmer, P.

Abstract

The field of health and human rights has grown quickly, but its boundaries have yet to be traced. Fifty-one years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, consensus regarding the most promising directions for the future is lacking; however, outcome-oriented assessments lead us to question approaches that rely solely on recourse to formal legal and civil rights. Similarly unpromising are approaches that rely overmuch on appeals to governments: careful study reveals that state power has been responsible for most human rights violations and that most violations are embedded in 'structural violence' - social and economic inequities that determine who will be at risk for assaults and who will be shielded. This article advances an agenda for research and action grounded in the struggle for social and economic rights, an agenda suited to public health and medicine, whose central contributions to future progress in human rights will be linked to the equitable distribution of the fruits of scientific advancement. Such an approach is in keeping with the Universal Declaration but runs counter to several of the reigning ideologies of public health, including those favoring efficacy over equity.

Suggested Citation

  • Farmer, P., 1999. "Pathologies of power: Rethinking health and human rights," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 89(10), pages 1486-1496.
    • Handle: RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:1999:89:10:1486-1496_2
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    Cited by:

    1. Emmanuel O. Amoo & Mercy E. Adebayo & Michael O. Owoeye & Matthew E. Egharevba, 2022. "To Save a Girl-Child, You Must Train a Boy-Child: A Note on Situational Irony," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-9, December.
    2. Zimmerman, Frederick J., 2013. "Habit, custom, and power: A multi-level theory of population health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 47-56.
    3. Johnston, Janice M. & Leung, Gabriel & Saing, Hnin & Kwok, Kin-On & Ho, Lai-Ming & Wong, Irene O.L. & Tin, Keith Y.K., 2006. "Non-attendance and effective equity of access at four public specialist outpatient centers in Hong Kong," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(10), pages 2551-2564, May.
    4. Piva da Silva, Mariana & Fraser, James A. & Parry, Luke, 2022. "From ‘prison’ to ‘paradise’? Seeking freedom at the rainforest frontier through urban–rural migration," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    5. Odette Mazel, 2018. "Indigenous Health and Human Rights: A Reflection on Law and Culture," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-23, April.
    6. DeVerteuil, Geoffrey, 2015. "Conceptualizing violence for health and medical geography," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 216-222.
    7. Kelly, Brendan D., 2005. "Structural violence and schizophrenia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(3), pages 721-730, August.
    8. Messer, Ellen & Cohen, Marc J., 2007. "The human right to food as a U.S. nutrition concern, 1976-2006:," IFPRI discussion papers 731, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    9. Simerta Gill & Gregor Wolbring, 2022. "Auditing the ‘Social’ Using Conventions, Declarations, and Goal Setting Documents: A Scoping Review," Societies, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-100, October.
    10. Arnold, Rachel & van Teijlingen, Edwin & Ryan, Kath & Holloway, Immy, 2018. "Parallel worlds: An ethnography of care in an Afghan maternity hospital," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 33-40.
    11. Susan L. Prescott & Alan C. Logan, 2018. "Larger Than Life: Injecting Hope into the Planetary Health Paradigm," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-27, March.

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