An Economic Basis for the Proletarianization of Physicians

Abstract

In their article, McKinlay and Arches (1) have provided us with a very interesting and perceptive analysis of how it has become possible to proletarianize physicians. The question raised herein is why it may be happening now. An ex ante (as opposed to alternative) hypothesis is that the real target of capital is the medical sector itself. That is, the relative loss of autonomy of physicians may be a necessary but not sufficient condition to resolve the real problem. The solution to the real problem depends not merely on reducing physicians' incomes and status in order to promote the profits of the medical sector, but to reduce the relatively inefficient and unnecessary medical sector's share of gross national product (GNP) as part of the solution to the larger economic crisis.