Looking to Hume for justice: On the utility of hume's view of justice for American health care reform

This essay argues that Hume's theory of justice can be useful in framing a more persuasive case for universal access in health care. Theories of justi ce derived from a Rawlsian social contract tradition tend to make the condi tions for deliberation on justice remote from the lives of most persons, wh ile religiously-inspired views require superhuman levels of benevolence. By contrast, Hume's theory derives justice from the prudent reflections of so cially-encumbered selves. This provides a more accessible moral theory and a more realistic path to the establishment of universal access.