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War Metaphors in Health Care: What Are They Good For?

Name / volume / issue

60376

Page number

1-2

Primary author

Kayhan Parsi

Tag(s): Journal article

Abstract

Protest singer Edwin Starr powerfully asked in the early 1970s: “War, what is it good for?” Apparently, it’s good enough to use in a variety of metaphorical turns of phrase. The war on poverty. The war on cancer. The war on Alzheimer’s. The war on drugs. The war metaphor seems irresistible. How else to elevate a social problem and make it the object of our intense focus and attention, not to mention financial support? These metaphors figure prominently in many areas of public life […]

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