Solidarity is presumed to underpin the redistributive health and welfare systems in modern democracies; however, it is often considered a Western—or more specifically, European—concept. While health and welfare systems have been transplanted successfully to many non-Western developed countries, whether the solidarity necessary for such systems exists or is intellectually available remains under debate. Using an East Asian country with the Confucian tradition as an illustrative case, I first argue that the Confucian tradition has special theoretical and sociological importance for health (...) and welfare solidarity. Then, through investigating the classic Confucian writings, I propose transformed interpretations of the essential concepts of Confucian thought, namely filial piety, benevolent governance and the mandate of heaven. With these interpretations, the differentiated family-based solidarity and the people-rooted thought in Confucianism could be reimagined to fit with the modern liberal-democratic political regime and welfare arrangements. I call this model Confucian welfarism, which I argue could form the intellectual origins of solidarity for people who believe in or have an affinity to Confucian ethos. (shrink)

Despite the well-documented social, economic, and adaptive advantages for young children, adolescents, and adults, the traditional family in the West is in decline. A growing percentage of men and women choose not to be bound by the traditional moral and social expectations of marriage and family life. Adults are much more likely than in the past to live as sexually active singles, with a concomitant increase in forms of social isolation as well as in the number of children born outside (...) of marriage. These social shifts are also connected to public policies that provide incentives for individuals to exit the family, leaving behind its social, capital, and economic resources. The individualistic character of the social-democratic egalitarian ideology that underlies the current dominant approaches to health care financing in Western Europe and much of North America, for example, is associated with a decline in family stability. Welfare entitlements, including state-based health care, have made it easier to exit the family, undermining the centrality of the family’s core human relationships. This essay argues for the importance of recognizing the cardinal role and reality of the family and for the importance of family-based health care savings accounts for preserving family integrity, while also providing for sustainable long-term health care reform. (shrink)

Publicly-funded health systems have traditionally been presumed to be underpinned by solidarity among the users. To which extent such solidarity presents and associates with what factors is understudied in the non-western countries. This article explores the distribution of health sector solidarity and its relationships with sociopolitical factors in Taiwan. Data was collected in 2021 through a national representative, cross-sectional survey with a sample size of 1272 included in the final analysis. The survey shows that solidarity regarding the National Health Insurance (...) in Taiwan was prevalent in 2021, with 76.6% of Taiwanese willing to carry the cost to enhance the quality of care through the system, while ten years ago, in 2011, that figure was only 49.1%. Nationalist sentiments, belief in differentiated social responsibility, and political partisanship are found to be the main factors associated with this supportive attitude, while familial values are not. The supportive attitude toward the health system remains strong and has increased during the past ten years, implying that the clinical and social effectiveness of the system itself may help further forge health sector solidarity in Taiwan. (shrink)