IN THE LAST POST I EXAMINED how the agendas for health care change when we consider ourselves—we, the people—as a center of power, alongside the government and the wealthy corporations.

But power comes in more than one form.

Imagine two different futures for America:

1. Our government becomes more and more democratic in a purely political sense—in that more and more issues get decided by the majority.
   
   At the same time the people become more intolerant.
   
   A new religion emerges, which almost completely replaces Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and all other religions now practiced.
   
   Because this is a democracy, in the political sense, the beliefs and practices of this new religion get enacted into law.
   
   The laws become completely restrictive: allowing virtually no choice to anyone. Everything about daily life must be lived in accordance with the rules of the new religion. Laws prescribe when we rise in the morning, when we go to bed at night, what we eat and when, who we marry, how many children we have, what programs we watch on television, what newspapers are allowed to print, who can get what job, where we worship—every aspect of our lives.
2. Our government becomes more and more dictatorial—no one gets to vote anymore, and a single person controls everything.
   
   This dictator puts policies into effect which allow everyone maximum freedom.
   
   He makes sure we have a healthy free market.
   
   He makes sure that everyone has equal opportunity.
   
   He makes sure that no one, not even your boss, can infringe on your basic human rights.
   
   Under this dictatorship the laws become minimally restrictive: allowing maximum choice to everyone. Everything about our daily life is left up to us. We decide when to rise in the morning, when to go to bed at night, what we eat and when, who we marry, how many children we have, what programs we watch on television, what our newspapers print, what job we want to apply for, where we worship or if we worship—every aspect of our lives.

In which of these scenarios do the people have more power?

It depends on what kind of power we mean.

The first gives the people, as a group, power over the government and its policies: it gives us a kind of authoritarian power. But it doesn't guarantee us any personal power.

The second takes away our authoritarian power, but gives us abundant personal power.

We aren't used to talking much about personal power as such, we usually call it "freedom". But freedom really is a form of power, just as its opposite—slavery—is a form of powerlessness.

And we can't have freedom if we have no choice.

It doesn't matter how free I am to shop as I choose, if I only have one store available.

And it also doesn't matter whether that is because:

1. the government has decreed it so, or because
2. the company I work for only allows the company store to be open in the company town.

It doesn't matter how free I am to choose my healthcare if I really have no choice.

And it also doesn't matter whether that is because:

1. the government has decreed it so, or because
2. health insurance corporations have gotten together to fix the market, or because
3. prices have soared so high that I can't afford any of the plans they offer, or because
4. they all refuse to sell to me because of my pre-existing condition.

If most of us had to choose between the two societies described above—choose between political power and the power of freedom—we would choose the second, no matter how much it offends our love of democracy.

If we hesitate, it's only because we don't really believe that the next dictator would preserve that freedom, and we are probably right about that.

The truth is that we need both kinds of power, if freedom is to survive.

So it makes sense, when considering any government policy—in this case, health care reform—to ask how it contributes to personal power.

A health care system which allowed for more choice would be a better health care system, but there are deeper issues involved, as well.

Our ability to choose, and therefore our freedom, is also a function of our level of security. People who don't feel secure are easier to manipulate. People who do feel secure are much more likely to stand up for their rights.

This is one reason the previous administration did everything it could to keep us scared of terrorism. It made our cooperation with their other agendas much more likely.

Health care is an important piece in our overall sense of security. When you or I know that our families will have good quality care if the need arises, and that that care won't threaten our financial security, we live, and plan, and vote with greater confidence.

We are less at the mercy of the corporate world, and the politics of fear.

So, just as political power over the government is necessary to guard our personal power, personal power is necessary if we are going to guard our political power.

Both are essential to true democracy.

Increasing our personal power is essential to a better health care system, but reliable health care for everyone is essential to a healthy democracy.

Any American who values democracy and freedom should be pushing for a healthcare system which covers everyone, while moving the "X" toward the people:

Or, to return to the labels from the old continuum:

Next time: How the current
plan measures up...