Ardain Isma
CSMS Magazine
In an increasingly interconnected and competitive world, access to healthcare and education has become more than just a matter of personal benefit—it is a matter of national well-being. Universal healthcare and college education are widely recognized as fundamental rights in many countries, yet in the United States, they remain contentious and largely inaccessible to significant portions of the population. Understanding why healthcare and education should be universal, and why the U.S. lags behind much of the developed world, requires examining both ethical principles and pragmatic realities.
Healthcare: A Basic Human Right
Healthcare is not a luxury; it is a basic human right. A society that allows millions to go without necessary medical treatment is a society that undermines its own stability and prosperity. Countries like Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany have long embraced universal healthcare systems. These nations recognize that healthy citizens contribute more effectively to the economy, participate more fully in civic life, and help create stronger, more resilient communities.
In contrast, the U.S. operates a largely privatized healthcare system, with access tied predominantly to employment or personal wealth. Despite spending significantly more on healthcare per capita than any other nation, the U.S. lags behind in outcomes like life expectancy, infant mortality, and preventable diseases. The American model breeds inequality: medical bankruptcy is a leading cause of personal financial ruin, and millions remain uninsured or underinsured.
Universal healthcare would address these problems by ensuring that no one must choose between going into debt or receiving necessary care. It would reduce administrative costs, improve public health outcomes, and align the U.S. with the ethical standards upheld by much of the world.
College Education: Investing in the Future
Similarly, access to college education should be universal. In countries like Germany, Norway, and Finland, higher education is tuition-free or heavily subsidized. These nations view education not as a privilege for the wealthy but as a public good, essential to national growth and innovation.
In the United States, however, the cost of college has soared over the past several decades, saddling students with crippling debt that can take decades to repay. The student debt crisis—over $1.7 trillion and growing—is not only a burden on individuals but a drag on the broader economy, suppressing homeownership, entrepreneurship, and family formation.
Making college education universally accessible would pay dividends across society. An educated workforce drives technological advancement, strengthens democracy, and enhances social mobility. It also leads to higher tax revenues over the long term as more people achieve higher earnings. Universal education, much like universal healthcare, should be seen as an investment in national prosperity, not an expense to be feared.
Why Isn’t It Happening in the U.S.?
The reasons why the U.S. lags behind are complex and deeply rooted in its political culture. American individualism places a strong emphasis on personal responsibility and self-reliance. There is a long-standing suspicion of government intervention, fueled historically by Cold War-era fears of socialism and communism.
Moreover, powerful lobbying groups—such as those representing the insurance industry, pharmaceutical companies, and private education sectors—exert significant influence on American policymaking. These groups have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo and often use their resources to frame universal healthcare and education as radical, unaffordable, or inefficient, despite evidence to the contrary.
In addition, America’s racial and economic divisions have historically been exploited to pit groups against one another, undermining support for universal programs that could benefit all citizens. Programs that might otherwise have broad support are often portrayed as benefiting “undeserving” groups, making solidarity difficult to achieve.
In a final analysis, I must that healthcare and college education should be universal because they are fundamental to individual dignity and collective prosperity. They are investments, not liabilities. The experiences of other countries demonstrate that universality is not only possible but successful. For the United States to meet the demands of the 21st century and to live up to its own ideals of equality and opportunity, it must confront its historical resistance and embrace healthcare and education as rights, not privileges.
Note: Ardain Isma is the Chief-Editor of CSMS Magazine. He is the author of several books, including Midnight at Noon, Bittersweet Memories of Last Spring, and Last Spring was Bittersweet. You can order these books by clicking on the links above.
