Towards a new radicalism | The Healthiest Goldfish

On striking a balance between engaging with upstream and downstream forces, to create a fundamentally healthier world.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines “radical” as

“of change or action: going to the root or origin; touching upon or affecting what is essential and fundamental; thorough, far-reaching.”

This definition aligns well with the work of public health. We are centrally concerned with “going to the root or origin”,  with “what is essential and fundamental.” We pursue our work with the understanding that the creation of a healthier world is, by definition, engagement with the foundational drivers of health. This is reflected in a metaphor I have long used to explain the work of public health. It is that of standing on the bank of a river, seeing people falling in and pulling them out one by one before realizing that the more fruitful action is to address what is throwing them in the river in the first place. This metaphor serves well for explaining what we do to those who are new to public health and has an important place in illustrating the philosophical underpinnings of our work. It reflects the necessity of dealing with the root causes of poor health, the structural forces that decide whether we are healthy throughout our lives.

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