Joe_Stocks
Back from the Dead
The most definable characteristic of free market capitalism is the price system. The price system allocates scarce resources in the most efficient uses. And the price system goes along the profit and loss system. Enterprises that produce something or provide a service are rewarded for providing it in an efficient manner. Those that operate inefficiently record losses and are punished. This spurs innovation and ingenuity as industries compete at being the most efficient at their given task.
Socialism does away with the price system which then means that socialism does away with the profit and loss system.
So, the question invariably arises; how will the best types of healthcare be rewarded under socialized healthcare? Under socialism there is no incentive to be more efficient because there is no calculation system. For example, under socialized healthcare how would treatment X be regarded as more efficient than treatment Y? Under the free market system the treatment that produced the best results at the cheapest cost would be rewarded with profits whereas the treatment that was less efficient would be punished with losses.
The same scenario could be posed in regard to doctors. Will poor doctors be punished under socialized healthcare and will good doctors be rewarded with more pay under socialized healthcare? And under socialized healthcare how could there be a system to determine this?
Socialism does away with the price system which then means that socialism does away with the profit and loss system.
So, the question invariably arises; how will the best types of healthcare be rewarded under socialized healthcare? Under socialism there is no incentive to be more efficient because there is no calculation system. For example, under socialized healthcare how would treatment X be regarded as more efficient than treatment Y? Under the free market system the treatment that produced the best results at the cheapest cost would be rewarded with profits whereas the treatment that was less efficient would be punished with losses.
The same scenario could be posed in regard to doctors. Will poor doctors be punished under socialized healthcare and will good doctors be rewarded with more pay under socialized healthcare? And under socialized healthcare how could there be a system to determine this?