Health sufficientarianism and health inequality

Area of Science:

• Bioethics
• Health Justice
• Moral Philosophy

Background:

• Sufficientarianism is a moral view that prioritizes meeting a certain threshold.
• The ethical justification for concern with health inequality remains debated.
• Existing theories may not fully capture the moral basis for addressing disparities in health outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the ethical underpinnings of health sufficientarianism.
• To provide a novel explanation for why individuals and societies are concerned with health inequality.
• To demonstrate the explanatory power of health sufficientarianism for health justice.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual analysis of sufficientarianism applied to health.
• Ethical argumentation regarding the drivers of concern for health inequality.
• Development of a generic account of health sufficientarianism.

Main Results:

• A generic account of health sufficientarianism is presented.
• The primary driver for concern with health inequality is identified as the risk of absolute health deficiency.
• Health sufficientarianism offers a distinctive and plausible explanation for this concern.

Conclusions:

• Health sufficientarianism provides a robust ethical framework for understanding concerns about health inequality.
• This approach strengthens the case for prioritizing health justice by focusing on absolute deficiency.
• The findings support a sufficientarian perspective in health policy and ethical decision-making.