Tank+Man's+Sacrifice+Created+a+Healthier+China?


 * Name**: Nina Palibrk


 * Student Number:** N7482833

= = ‘Tank Man’s’ Sacrifice Created a Healthier and Better China?
 * Tutor:** Colleen Niland



__ China 1989 __ The Tiananmen Square massacre initially began as one of many peaceful student protests for democracy and freedom, and ended forcefully and brutally by the soldiers resulting in countless blood shed on June 4th 1989. The casualties were excessive and included students, women, children, workers, innocent bystanders and onlookers (Thomas, 2006). The Tank Man appeared on June 5th 1989; he stood head on with a line of tanks as a symbol and a voice for the people who had been silenced during the massacre (Thomas, 2006). The Tank Man’s identity was never discovered nor was he ever found or heard of again, but what he stood for gave the Chinese people hope and a prospect for a new China (Thomas, 2006).

__ China's New Health Issue __ Tank Man’s sacrifice stood for China’s conversion to a more capitalist or freer society thus perceiving negatively on communism. Did this leave the people of new China better off when considering health access and affordability? When it comes down to it health accessibility and affordability regarding care and services, was more achievable on a population level when strict communism was in power. The communism theory directed for equality including the need for equal quality and level of heath care free to every individual (Thomas, 2006). The current capitalistic Australian health care system, for example strongly focuses on private sector health services purchased as insurance with the benefit of 30% subsidy to individuals (Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care, 2000). This however alienates those individuals and vulnerable groups that are financially less secure and are unable to afford private health insurance and bulk billing (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2011). Theorist Karl Marx supported communism and socialism as a system to run society and criticized capitalism by creating a link with his alienation theory (Marx, 1985). Marxism believes the importance of equality including health equality by abolishing class ranks and alienation of vulnerable groups within a society thus providing health accessibility and affordability on a population level (Marx, 1985).

__ Today’s Health and Society Issues __ Health equality and distribution has and will be an ongoing issue and ultimate goal, due to its complexity and immediate connection with class ranks causing divisions in society, evident in a capitalist society. Societal division are formed by the very nature of capitalism, which uses economic status, level of education and occupation as a means to characterise individuals into groups and ranks within a society (Marx, 1985). Marx believes the communist system of running society will end his definition of capitalism as “the exploitation of one individual by another” and instead provide universal equality (Marx, 1985). The old China and the new China compare a strict communism regime to a more capitalistic, still communist, but freer society and how the impacts and changes to the health services and population health differ. What history of the Chinese reform to a freer society has shown can directly linked and explained by the theories of Karl Marx.

__ Theory of Capitalism __ Capitalism is the result of the rich growing richer and now the major advances in technologies of health services results in increased health costs (Rogoff, 2005). Marx’s theories lead him to believe that capitalism could not survive without continuous expansion and production advances due the constant cycle of new wants replaced by old ones, therefore the focus is always on the advance and the product and less on the labourer or the working man (Marx, 1985). Marx’s critical capitalism beliefs have further drawn connections to the theory of human alienation creating inequality gaps and incapacitating health of individuals (Yuill, 2005)(Cowling, 2006).

__ Chinas Social Agreement __ Following the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989 the Chinese Government established social control in aiming to prevent any further disturbances and reform demonstrations (Mason & Clements, 2002). The Chinese Government’s first approach aimed to eliminate the urban worker’s complaints and criticisms through cut inflation and increasing economic growth to eventually submitting to both the students and the workers offering a fair share in China’s earning inevitably creating a new superior working middle class (Mason & Clements, 2002). The second strategy involved the abolition of any worker-student alliances penalized by imprisonment in order to regain power and prevent other protests or demonstration organizations (Mason & Clements, 2002). A social agreement was made with the Government with no further disturbances or complaints, for wealthier and fortune to the working class (Thomas, 2006). History shows how the Governments strategies applied to assist only themselves and the workers and middle class who became richer, but did not include the future of the peasants and the farmers who also gained freedom but lost their ability to afford health and education and lost their power against the upper class (Thomas, 2006). This followed just as Marx had predicted, with the constant need and focus on the product and accumulating capital over the needs of the worker, caused the social gap to increase, incapacitating the health of the individuals and vulnerable groups (Marx, 1985). The poor became poorer and the rich became richer, the social gap increased and evidently so did health care and service affordability and accessibility gap, as health services were no longer free.

__ The Health Inequality Gap __ Accessibility and affordability of health services are important health related issues vital to achieving population health and prevention before a cure. The World Health Organisation aim is to achieve health equality by reducing health status differences through equal opportunities and services for all (World Health Organisation, 2009). The question remains, how can population health and prevention before a cure be achieved without the entire population participation? In Australia, the introduction of Medicare in 1984 people have received a basic cover for free treatment in hospitals, and a partial refund on general consultations (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2001). Medicare and the public health care system have provided some sort of bridge to affordable health services. However due to the Australian Government’s main focus on the private health care sector, evident with the additional benefits such as the introduction of the 30% rebate to private health insurance premiums in 1999 following a significant decline post-Medicare introduction in the successful attempt to increase appeal for individuals to purchase private health insurance (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2001). This continues to create class divisions alienating individuals and vulnerable groups that may be finically, culturally or geographically less accessibly and affordably able to purchase all the benefits of private health insurance. Australian Bureau of Statistics (2011) reported trends regarding the use and patient experience and found that the most common reason people did not have private health insurance in both urban and rural areas was because they could not afford it. This main focus on the private health care sector alienates individuals and vulnerable groups from achieving all the health care benefits that come with purchasing insurance, creating inequality in health care. Marxism and communism had its limitations however capitalism is not flawless, when universal health equality is the ultimate goal an adapted concept of communism may be the answer in bridging the health equality gap.

__ Health, Culture and Society __ Health accessibility and affordability affects those financial less secure and vulnerable groups in society, inevitably the health inequality is often overlooked by those not affected by it. Culture and society can be considered influences causing or maintaining the issue of inequality of health services and care. Marx believes that capitalist society ranks people by their income, material possessions, education level and occupation and is the result of the rich growing richer (Marx, 1985) and with quality health services and optimal health achieved by additional costs, seems only obtainable by the financially secure. Thus deeming society and culture within such a context major contributors to this issue. Class ranks are formed by society factoring in an individual’s financial status or income (Marx, 1985) received from a ranked occupation that is predetermined by level of education, requiring money to complete. Capitalist society runs in an endless cycle around wealth as a prerequisite to ranks, thus resulting in the rich growing richer (Marx, 1985). China has grown significantly as an economic power with great wealth; a wealth dividing china in to two (Thomas, 2006). Due to economic growth concentrations in the cities urban China had acquired the wealth and power, while rural China remains poor receiving no economic benefit, thus increasing the class division (Thomas, 2006). During the strict communist regime, the Chinese people received free education and health care, now however the rural population cannot even afford education to be able to change their prospects, receive better incomes and be able to afford better health care and instead rely on free home remedies or expect death (Thomas, 2006). Health accessibility and affordability affect culture and cultures in a society. Culture is the beliefs, views and ideas one learns from their environment and the people around them within a family or a population (Hazelwood & Shakespeare-Finch, 2011). The World Health Organization (WHO) is continuously implementing strategies and promotion campaigns to raise awareness of the health inequalities among migrants and indigenous people due to substantial evidence addressing accessibility and affordability of health care services (World Health Organization, 2010).

__ Health Alienation __ The human alienation theory explains Marx’s criticisms of capitalism as being purely a means of competition between individuals for success and states that communism only aims to avoid an individual from overpowering and exploiting another by cheating or stealing (Yuill, 2005) (Marx, 1985). With constant industry, labor and human competition for success between high-ranked classes, vulnerable groups are forgotten and the awareness of inequality remains unaddressed therefore increasing the inequity and social gap, as the rich become more successful and richer (Marx, 1985).

__ Modern Communism __ This issue could be successfully addressed with the implementation of an adapted or modernised communism or Marxism theory to universally equalise health care services and abolishing the health inequity gap. The change in government system will optimistically assist those vulnerable groups in achieving their optimal health, while in no way disadvantaging the already health secure groups from achieving equally accessible or affordable services.

__ Did Tank Man's Sacrifice Create a Healthier China? __  The heroic story of the Tank Man was a historic event that gave prospect for change, a sign for better things to come for the Chinese people (Thomas, 2006). After that day China did change but whether it was for the better is subjective. The political power turned into a great economic power it is today creating wealth ending the people’s criticisms and a future for further reforms (Thomas, 2006). Economic market reform increased class division forming two Chinas; urban, wealthy China separated from the poorer rural China due to the economic benefits and power was concentrated in the cities and the abolition of the sate unearned industries resulting in millions of people losing their jobs (Thomas, 2006). This arose competition between the two Chinas, a competition for survival, land and property to increase urbanisation and industrialisation reporting thousands of disturbances (Thomas, 2006) and with all the power to the urban population the rural population more often than not lost their property and land. For such a developed country as China, majority that is the rural population are faced with preventable public health problems such as not enough water, food, little to no education and lack in health care (Thomas, 2006).

__ Communism Vs. Capitalism __ Communism is considered ruthless and cruel, but the new China clearly shows what a capitalist society gone wrong would cause. In theory communism was the ultimate way to run a society but failed in practice, in practice capitalism works but does arise with many health, cultural and social issues. Therefore a utopic society would be an adaptation of the positive aspects of both communism and capitalism. All forms of running a society should be considered and not dismissed without true understanding of polices, laws and aims because who is to say that modernised communism won’t work.

__ References __

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