Abstract
Twentieth century Western liberal democracies have been largely dominated by two broad principles upon which the allocation and distribution of resources, particularly public resources, are based. These are the principle of right and the principle of need (see for example Wiggins, 1998; Doyal & Gough, 1991; Plant, 1990, 1986; Miller, 1976; Rawls, 1972). They provide the ethical framework for determining societal priorities, aiding professional judgment, grounding entitlements and reconciling claims. They also shape our decision-making and social legislation for public intervention, particularly in welfare choices and health care policies (Tao and Drover, 1997).
The author wishes to register a note of deep appreciation to the Centre for Modem Chinese Studies (philosophy project) and to St. Hugh’s College at University of Oxford, UK, where I was offered visiting fellowships during the period of my sabbatical leave from the City University of Hong Kong from April 1999 to December 1999 where I developed and completed this paper under their invaluable support.
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Po-Wah, J.T.L. (2003). Confucian and Western Notions of Human Need and Agency: Health Care and Biomedical Ethics in the Twenty-First Century. In: Qiu, RZ. (eds) Bioethics: Asian Perspectives. Philosophy and Medicine, vol 80. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0419-9_2
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