Sociology Talk

Mark, Devon · Guest

It has become apparent now (as if it wasn't many years ago) that the
word 'choice' has been used with some complete stupidity. I refer, in
particular, to 'choice' in people's decisions regarding schools for
their kids and health-care. And it seems to me the main two parties
are equally guilty of this complete nonesense. Basically, people
should not have to make a 'choice', for God's sake. All health-care
facilities and all state schools should ideally deliver the same level
of service, and that service should be what the country is WILLING to
pay for (not necessarily what it can afford (because I believe the tax-
payer can afford more than s/he is willing to pay for, yet at the same
time s/he 'wishes' for 'more')).

We chould, of course, measure standards across schools and hospitals
etc. with two aims:-

1) to bring to lower-performing services up to the standard of the
rest

2) to raise the overall standards, by continuous improvement

The word 'choice' has become as ridiculous as the word 'free' when
used in the early days when the NHS was brought in. Nothing is 'free'
- how ridiculous. Educated and smart people, of course, know it means
free at he point of need, but the word was very much misinterpreted,
misapplied, and wrong - in that it gave people the stupid idea that
they could live off the state for years without working etc.

But the word 'choice' is equaly stupid when it comes to health-care
and schools.....it leads to the problems we have now. For instance,
take many 'two-school' towns in Britain, where one secondary school
has got ahead of the other. What does this lead to? Obvious....the
kids with the smarter/more professional/more determined parents start
to get their kids into the better school. Eventually this leads to a
scenario where there are two standards; the one school with a
significantly different intake to the other. Then, no amount of
internal school improvement can get the 'poorer school' up to the
higher standard. So, you end up with a two-tier (almost class) system.

Similar applies to health-care.

What a nonesense it all is - 'choice' in this context is utterly
ridiculous. People shouldn't have to make a 'choice' over something so
fundamental, for God's sake. The politicians will use the word
'choice' freely, because they think (rightly, I have to say) that the
public are thinking they are 'giving' them something:-

"oooh 'choice' that sounds lovely".

It is rubbish, a nonesense. Carry on this way, and we'll end up paying
twice as much for our health-care, as in the USA. Becuase the obvious
final position that 'choice' leads to is ful privatisation, and the
MASSIVE administartion/costs burden that generates.