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The Expressive Function of Public Health Policy: The Case of Pandemic Planning

The Expressive Function of Public Health Policy: The Case of Pandemic Planning Many legal scholars well recognize that, in some instances, support for a law or policy may be primarily because of its expressive function, i.e. the statements it makes about underlying values. In these cases, the expressive content of a law or policy may actually overshadow its central purpose. Examples of this phenomenon, according to Cass Sunstein, include, for example, regulations against hate speech in the USA. He suggests that achieving the consequence (prohibiting hateful speech against certain groups) may not be the real focus (central purpose) of the law. Rather, the real focus is on the social meaning of these regulationsthat bigotry is unacceptable in a liberal society. In this way, a particular law or policy can operate on many levelswhile aiming to achieve a particular objective or behavior, it can also be a valuable tool for achieving other important social goals through its expressive function. This article applies this insight to the realm of public health policy, with particular attention to the case of pandemic planning, and suggests that public health policy and its overall goals may be well-served by deliberate regard for, and appropriate utilization of, the expressive function. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Public Health Ethics Oxford University Press

The Expressive Function of Public Health Policy: The Case of Pandemic Planning

Pierce, Robin
Public Health Ethics , Volume 4 (1) – Apr 17, 2011
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References (31)

Publisher
Oxford University Press
Copyright
The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press. Available online at www.phe.oxfordjournals.org
ISSN
1754-9973
eISSN
1754-9981
DOI
10.1093/phe/phr001
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Many legal scholars well recognize that, in some instances, support for a law or policy may be primarily because of its expressive function, i.e. the statements it makes about underlying values. In these cases, the expressive content of a law or policy may actually overshadow its central purpose. Examples of this phenomenon, according to Cass Sunstein, include, for example, regulations against hate speech in the USA. He suggests that achieving the consequence (prohibiting hateful speech against certain groups) may not be the real focus (central purpose) of the law. Rather, the real focus is on the social meaning of these regulationsthat bigotry is unacceptable in a liberal society. In this way, a particular law or policy can operate on many levelswhile aiming to achieve a particular objective or behavior, it can also be a valuable tool for achieving other important social goals through its expressive function. This article applies this insight to the realm of public health policy, with particular attention to the case of pandemic planning, and suggests that public health policy and its overall goals may be well-served by deliberate regard for, and appropriate utilization of, the expressive function.

Journal

Public Health Ethics – Oxford University Press

Published: Apr 17, 2011

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