On Freedom

by Timothy Snyder

With respect to health, the idea of negative freedom is a dangerous relic of the past, of a time when the most that could be hoped for was property, slaves, and women to surround an ill man. We can do so much better now, and for everyone. A revolution in medicine and hygiene began after the Civil War. Physicians—and following them, governments around the world—implemented policies of hygiene, vaccination, and preventive care. These programs created not only the reality but the expectation of a much longer life. Advances in medicine made possible a profound gain of freedom. People who are more confident about health will have greater ambitions for life. People who expect to live short lives are more likely to risk them in violence that, in turn, shortens the lives of others. We can bring Jefferson’s thought to its logical conclusion and unite his three basic rights in a fourth: the right to health care. But we will only achieve that if we manage something that the Founders did not: recognizing other bodies as equally human.