INDIVIDUALS, GOVERNMENT, AND PUBLIC POLICY
Different interventions and programmatic measures in public health and health policy can fit with the health capability paradigm. These policies may embody degrees of paternalism, libertarian paternalism, and free will. Both short-term and long-term policies are important, balancing health agency and health functioning to improve health capability for both individuals and the population in the moment and over the long term.
Individuals need to voluntarily embrace both their individual role and the role of government. While the government must take the lead in solving social problems, it must have and maintain the trust of the people in order to take measures to protect them. It is also important to recognize the limit of the government’s use of its executive power. It is government’s responsibility to respect that boundary. The government must hold itself accountable for serving and meeting the people’s needs. Government effectiveness engenders trust from the people and, in turn, inspires them to be personally responsible. This entails using their individual health agency and willingly sacrificing some of their autonomy for their own good and that of others.
