Disease And Democracy: The Industrialized World Faces Aids (california/milbank Books On Health And The Public)

Disease and Democracy is the first comparative analysis of how Western democratic nations have coped with AIDS. Peter Baldwin's exploration of divergent approaches to the epidemic in the United States and several European nations is a springboard for a wide-ranging and sophisticated historical analysis of public health practices and policies. In addition to his comprehensive presentation of information on approaches to AIDS, Baldwin's authoritative book provides a new perspective on our most enduring political dilemma: how to reconcile individual liberty with the safety of the community. Baldwin finds that Western democratic nations have adopted much more varied approaches to AIDS than is commonly recognized. He situates the range of responses to AIDS within the span of past attempts to control contagious disease and discovers the crucial role that history has played in developing these various approaches. Baldwin finds that the various tactics adopted to fight AIDS have sprung largely from those adopted against the classic epidemic diseases of the nineteenth century--especially cholera--and that they reflect the long institutional memories embodied in public health institutions. Disease and Democracy is the first comparative analysis of how Western democratic nations have coped with AIDS. Peter Baldwin's exploration of divergent approaches to the epidemic in the United States and several European nations is a springboard for a wide-ranging and sophisticated historical analysis of public health practices and policies. In addition to his comprehensive presentation of information on approaches to AIDS, Baldwin's authoritative book provides a new perspective on our most enduring political dilemma: how to reconcile individual liberty with the safety of the community.Baldwin finds that Western democratic nations have adopted much more varied approaches to AIDS than is commonly recognized. He situates the range of responses to AIDS within the span of past attempts to control contagious disease and discovers the crucial role that history has played in developing these various approaches. Some countries have relied on voluntary, consensual tactics based on education, information dissemination, and behavioral change. Elsewhere, less consensual methods have been employed, with the civil rights of the infected and the at-risk restricted in favor of the community's well-being. Baldwin's analysis reveals that these various tactics have sprung largely from those adopted against the classic epidemic diseases of the nineteenth century-especially cholera-and that they reflect the long institutional memories embodied in public health institutions. His study illuminates key issues facing both developed and developing nations attempting to curtail epidemics today and in the future. Disease And Democracy Is The First Comparative Analysis Of How Western Democratic Nations Have Coped With Aids. Peter Baldwin's Exploration Of Divergent Approaches To The Epidemic In The United States And Several European Nations Is A Springboard For A Wide-ranging And Sophisticated Historical Analysis Of Public Health Practices And Policies. In Addition To His Comprehensive Presentation Of Information On Approaches To Aids. Baldwin's Authoritative Book Provides A New Perspective On Our Most Enduring Political Dilemma: How To Reconcile Individual Liberty With The Safety Of The Community.--jacket. Bodily Fluids And Citizenship -- What Came First -- Fighting The Last War : Traditional Public Health Strategies And Aids -- Patients Into Prisoners : Responsibility, Crime, And Health -- Discrimination And Its Discontents : Protecting The Victims -- Every Man His Own Quarantine Officer : The Voluntary Approach -- The Polymorphous Politics Of Prevention -- To Die Laughing : Gays And Other Interest Groups -- Vox Populi Suprema Lex Est : Expertise, Authority, And Democracy -- Clio Intervenes : The Effect Of The Past On Public Health -- Liberty, Authority, And The State In The Aids Era. Peter Baldwin. Paperback Edition, 2006. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 291-447) And Index. A brilliant piece of comparative history. Written with panache and wit, you won't be able to put down this book. Informed by a keen sense of history, it reads like a first-rate piece of journalism. A must-read. Whatever else you may think of him, General Jack D. Ripper, Doctor Strangelove's nemesis, had a point: democracy requires uncorrupted bodily fluids, whether precious or merely quotidian.