Jamesian Philosophy Refreshed

News from Down Under.  (It has nothing to do with kangaroos but I like the photo.)  Healthscope, Australia's second-largest private hospital operator, entered receivership in late May due to severe financial stresses. It will continue to operate but with the expectation of a restructuring.  Australia has a dual healthcare system, public and private, both as to payments and as to the institutions of care.  A public system, 'Medicare,' covers everyone for doctor visits, hospital stays and some medical tests,  It also pays a portion of many prescription medications. There is much that Medicare doesn't cover, including dental physiotherapy and ambulance services.  There are also distinct public and private hospitals.    Some Australians take the public.private balance to be itself a value worth preserving.  The president of the Australian Medical Association told a reporter recently that the balance between the two is "what makes our healthcare s...

 We've been hearing for years that the average age of much of the world -- essentially, the whole developed world -- is increasing.  The usual phrase is that the world is "graying."  A report from the US Census, after it had absorbed the 2020 census figures, made a century-by-century comparison of the amount of gray in the population. In 1920, only about 1 in 20 of the people in the US were 65 or older. In 2020, that figure had risen to one in six.  But one doesn't have to see the change in such a long time frame to see it clearly. The largest ever 10 year numeric gain in the 'senior' portion of the population defined by that age is the gain between 2010 and 2020. That category gains 15.5 million people that decade. One could make similar observations about much of the rest of the world.  There are various inferences one can draw from such facts. One, very much discussed, is that old-age pension systems are coming under stress. This has led to some heated deba...