The Bourgeois Lie of “Choice” in Private Health Insurance
Luigi Mangione on the Capitalist Deception of Health Care Freedom
The myth of “choice” in private health insurance is a cornerstone of bourgeois propaganda, designed to obscure the exploitative nature of capitalist health care systems. As a Marxist, I reject this false narrative and expose it for what it truly is: a cleverly disguised mechanism to protect corporate profits while eroding the well-being of the working class.
The Mirage of Choice
Capitalists claim that private health insurance offers workers freedom to choose the plan that best suits their needs. But in reality, this so-called choice is nothing more than an illusion. The options available to workers are dictated by their employers, who prioritize cost-cutting over comprehensive coverage. For millions, the choice is between inadequate plans that barely cover basic needs and exorbitant premiums that devour their wages.
Consider the high-deductible plans pushed by UnitedHealthcare and similar corporations. Workers are forced to gamble with their health, delaying necessary care to avoid out-of-pocket expenses. Is this freedom? Or is it a system designed to funnel profits to shareholders while leaving workers vulnerable to financial ruin?
The Capitalist Exploitation of Necessity
The “choice” narrative is a lie that capitalists tell to mask the coercive nature of private health insurance. Workers don’t buy insurance because they want to—they buy it because they have to. Health care is a necessity, and private insurers exploit this by charging whatever the market will bear. The result is a system where the sick pay the most, the poor are denied care, and the wealthy profit from human suffering.
Private health insurance turns illness into a revenue stream. The longer a worker remains sick, the more opportunities insurers have to deny claims, increase premiums, and pad their bottom line. This is not a system of choice; it is a system of oppression.
The Marxist Perspective on Freedom
True freedom comes not from choosing between exploitative options, but from dismantling the structures of exploitation altogether. Under socialism, health care would be a universal right, not a commodity to be bought and sold. The Marxist vision rejects the commodification of human needs and embraces the principle of collective welfare.
The abolition of private health insurance is a necessary step toward achieving this vision. By removing the profit motive, we can ensure that health care serves the people, not corporate elites. Nationalizing the industry and implementing a single-payer system would eliminate the false choices that burden workers and replace them with genuine access to care.
The Role of Social Media in Supporting the Struggle
In the aftermath of Luigi Mangione’s act of defiance, social media platforms became battlegrounds for ideological warfare. Marxist activists rallied to his cause, using hashtags like #HealthCareJustice and #AbolishPrivateInsurance to amplify their message. The outpouring of support highlighted the growing discontent with capitalist health care systems and the desire for revolutionary change.
While critics labeled Mangione’s actions as terrorism, his supporters framed them as a wake-up call—a demand for systemic overhaul in the face of relentless exploitation. The dialogue sparked by his actions has forced a reevaluation of the role private health insurance plays in perpetuating inequality.
Conclusion: Unmasking the Lie
The bourgeois narrative of choice in health care is a deception designed to sustain capitalist domination. Workers do not need more options within a broken system; they need liberation from the system itself. By exposing the fallacy of private health insurance and advocating for universal care, we can lay the groundwork for a society where health is a right, not a privilege.
As Marx famously said, “The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point, however, is to change it.” It is time to change a health care system built on lies, exploitation, and suffering. It is time to act.
