ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE - THE MORAL DIMENSION TO PUBLIC-HEALTH

This essay explores the effects of morality on health policy. Moral im ages and stereotypes, I argue, have powerful political consequences. T hey are the difference between fighting poverty and fearing the poor, between expanding social welfare programs and cracking down on crime, between public health campaigns and drug wars. I begin by locating mor ality within traditional paradigms of American politics (which are des igned to overlook the issue); I then suggest how moral stigmas are con structed; show how they are deployed in debates over public health iss ues, such as alcohol abuse and drug addiction; and briefly sketch an a lternative approach to defining community and seeking public health.