13 | Life Beyond Capitalism? | Howard Waitzkin

Social Medicine On Air

Howard Waitzkin speaks with us today about reimagining life and medicine after capitalism. A humble giant in the field of social medicine, Howard helps to unpack how capitalism is destructive for the earth, for healthcare systems, and for social life. How can individuals and communities work towards non-violent, "rinky-dink" action against the systems which are destroying us?

Howard Waitzkin MD PhD is Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Sociology and former director of community medicine at the University of New Mexico, a prolific scholar and practitioner of social medicine, and a tireless activist across North and South America for universal and accessible healthcare. His own family background of poverty led him to life-long questions on inequality, public health, oppression, capitalism, and medicine.

Resources written by Howard:

• Rinky-Dink Revolution: Moving Beyond Capitalism by Withholding Consent, Creative Constructions, and Creative Destructions, by Howard Waitzkin, (Ottawa: Daraja Press, 2020), bit.ly/2VsxyKj

• Howard Waitzkin, “Is Our Work Dangerous? Should It Be?,” Journal of Health and Social Behavior 39, no. 1 (1998): 7–17, bit.ly/2Jx4UoV

• Howard Waitzkin et al., “Social Medicine Then and Now: Lessons From Latin America,” American Journal of Public Health 91, no. 10 (October 2001): 1592–1601, bit.ly/39yHwC2

• Howard Waitzkin, “One and a Half Centuries of Forgetting and Rediscovering: Virchow’s Lasting Contributions to Social Medicine,” Social Medicine 1, no. 1 (February 25, 2006): 5–10. bit.ly/2I0uh1E

• Out soon: Social Medicine and the Coming Transformation, by Howard Waitzkin, Alina Pérez, Matt Anderson (New York: Routledge, 2020) bit.ly/2JI2JPm