Libertarian Fox Business host John Stossel on Thursday said he was outraged that most government services like the military and “organ selling” had not been turned over to private business. In a segment titled “Time to Privatize,” Stossel told the hosts of Fox & Friends that the beauty of privatizing the government was that private companies were easier to fire if they didn’t live up to the promise of proving better services at a lower cost…. “I call my show ‘Privatize Everything’ tonight but, look, the Constitution says the military, policing, the courts, the post office — that’s a job for the government,” Stossel replied. “So, fine. Frankly, much of the military is already private. The [Congressional Budget Office (CBO)] says that if Halliburton weren’t in Iraq, they would have to pay three people to do what one what one Halliburton employee does.”…. Stossel’s list of things that needed to be privatized included parks, libraries, law enforcement, military and “organ selling.”
No reasonable person would suspect John Stossel to be a great intellect or a selfless humanitarian. If he’s to be taken seriously as a shining example of Libertarianism, then the movement’s in a world of hurt. Stossel’s brand of Libertarian philosophy is straight out of Atlas Shrugged- people should be compensated based on what they produce and their value to society, and government is an obstacle to the development of human potential.
If you believe in an America where the strong survive and the weak are cast aside to wither and die, you probably love Stossel. If you believe in the social contract and possess even the barest shred of humanity, Stossel’s ideology is nothing if not inhuman. The “haves” are blessed because of what they contribute to society. The “have nots”? Well, Stossel’s upset that they can’t sell their kidneys to make ends meet.
WTF??
Stossel’s list of things that needed to be privatized included parks, libraries, law enforcement, military and “organ selling.”….
“This upsets people, but I’m upset it’s not legal,” Stossel insisted. “In the one country where it is legal, nobody waits for a kidney.”
“Where is that?” Doocy asked.
“I’m afraid to say it’s Iran,” Stossel shrugged. “But, still! There’s no waiting line. In America, lots of people die waiting for kidneys.” Uh…people don’t die in American waiting for kidneys because selling organs is illegal. They die because of an inefficient and outdated system for allocating organs. Selling organs is an idea that will only serve to further separate the 1% from everyone else. Survival then becomes directly proportional to the size of your bank account.
To Stossel’s way of thinking, the human body is a self-contained marketplace, something that should be exploited for profit. If you agree with Stossel, you believe that those who have the money to afford a kidney are more worthy of a transplant than those in less liquid circumstances. The wealthy and well-off are entitled to exploit another human being’s diminished financial circumstances if they happen to need a kidney transplant. Under the system, people could and will die waiting for kidneys because they can’t afford to pay market rate for a new organ. They’d be left to turn to the black market that would inevitably develop, with none of the guarantees or quality controls normally in place to protect the life and well-being of the recipient.
“Yes, we have two kidneys, we need one, people need them,” the Fox Business host declared. “It’s your body, it should be your choice. Why does the government limit what you can do what you can do with your body?”….
A 2008 policy analysis published by the conservative Cato Institute pointed out that poor people are disproportionately impacted by the Iranian organ trade, which pays about $1,200 for each kidney.
It’s interesting that Stossel manages to conveniently blow by the “poor people are disproportionately impacted by the Iranian organ trade” part of the argument. If Stossel’s vision were to become reality, we’d be treated to a system that exploits the poor and desperate to meet the health and medical needs of the wealthy.
Somewhere warm and breezy, Any Rand snickers into her Corona Light….
There’s a very good reason that selling organs is illegal in the U.S. The human body comes with only a limited number of them, and without the able to regrow ones that are removed, selling organs can place a donor at significant risk. No humane political system could justify allowing the creation of a marketplace that allows the poor to jeopardize their health for the benefit of someone in better financial circumstances. The wealthy and well off are not more worthy of living because of their more favorable financial circumstances. Life and the ability to live doesn’t come with a price tag attached.
Or does Stossel really view humanity and the worth of individuals strictly in terms of dollars and cents?
