M1-Pre Task

Politics plays an important influence in health policy. Politics is crucial in defining how citizens and
policymakers perceive and describe issues with current social circumstances and regulations, in
supporting certain types of public health interventions but not others, and in producing a range of policy
implementation obstacles.

There are several reasons why individuals' and the whole public's health is a political concern rather
than a private one. First, individual and institutional activities frequently have considerable spillover
effects, which economists refer to as externalities. Some of these externalities are positive, while others
are negative. To compensate for the externalities associated with private acts such as smoking,
immunization, driving while drunk, sexual practices, and product manufacturing and sale, governmental
choices must be made regarding whether and how to restrict individual rights or business interests.
Second, individuals rely on government to identify and provide a wide range of physical, economic, and
psychological requirements that go far beyond basic survival. Third, preserving public health requires
moral judgements that gain credibility via political discussion and resolution.