ON LIBERALISM, NEO-LIBERALISM AND THE LIBERAL PROFESSION OF MEDICINE

This paper seeks to do three things. First, to consider the field of medicine as an arena of government. How has medicine been problematized as such an arena? What does the history of medical organization in Britain look like when posed within the context of government? Second, to consider the impact of specifically liberal political rationalities of government on medicine. What does it mean to organize medicine in a 'liberal' way? What do we mean by the ideal of a 'liberal profession'? Third, the paper considers the question of neo-liberalism and medical politics, asking whether neo-liberalism is a political rationality that is inherently corrosive of the professions.