The Dynamics of Commercial Health Care in the Lebanon

Abstract

Public health systems worldwide have experienced rapid commercialization conflicting with the socially based values of public provision. The ideological rationale underpinning these changes combines claims of market efficiency with a notion of ‘consumer’ interests that may be better served by markets than state health services (World Bank 1993; Newbrander 1997). This neoliberal paradigm has to a considerable extent usurped and transformed the notion of ‘the public’ and of ‘civil society’ into a collection of individual consumers and providers.

This chapter is based upon the authors’ empirical research in Lebanon during 1996–2003, funded by the European Commission and UNRISD. The authors are grateful to Dr Nabil Kronfol for his invaluable help during fieldwork for this paper