Blame inequality for organ donation rates!!

Eric Crampton blogs:

Man, the snake-oil salesmen of the 1800s had nothing on today’s inequality campaigners. Turns out that inequality’s to blame for New Zealand’s low organ donation rates. Really?

Here’s Eileen Goodwin at the ODT.

An “individualist new-right” attitude that holds sway in New Zealand is holding back organ donation rates, a University of Otago biomedical ethics authority says.

Prof Grant Gillett was contacted for comment on a Ministry of Health consultation process that seeks to increase New Zealand’s low rate of organ donation. …

He said the political ideology of the Ministry of Health and the Government hindered efforts to foster a different view of organ donation.

“The ministry’s got quite an individualist new-right sort of agenda.

“I think it’s shared by the Government at large; I think that’s the reason why we are encouraged to tolerate the inequalities [in society].”

“It’s fundamental to neoliberalism that every individual should be able to be accountable for their own stuff, wrapped up in their own life, and not have dues to others.”

What a load of total bullshit. A semi-demented rant about neo-liberalism posing as expert commentary.

Asked if countries with high economic inequality had lower organ donation rates, Prof Gillett said he did not know.

So he admits he has no idea at all about what he is speaking on as a so called expert.

Eric notes:

Amazing that the socialist transformation of man away from individualism in Venezuela still has their live organ donation rates lower than those in that every-man-for-himself dog-eat-dog Hong Kong, never mind the US. And Sweden is also lower there than the US.

I wonder what else neo-liberalism will be blamed for – our growing road toll?