UK doctors’ strikes 2023
Not only justified but, arguably, supererogatory
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21514632 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Doug McConnell (0000-0001-5813-0834, Macquarie University), Darren Mann, Darren K Mann (King's College London, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 152-156 |
| Publication date | 2024-03-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Medical Ethics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0306-6800 • E-ISSN: 1473-4257 |
| Publisher | BMJ (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1136/jme-2023-109568 |
| PMID | 38135469 |
| OpenAlex | W4390101158 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 16 |
The 2023 doctors’ strikes in the UK have elicited a familiar moral outcry that such strikes are morally wrong. We consider five arguments that might be thought to show doctors’ strikes are morally impermissible but show that they all fail. The most we can conclude from such arguments is that doctors’ strikes are morally permissible in a narrower range of circumstances than strikes in other sectors. We then outline two independent but compatible justifications for doctors’ strikes, one that appeals to doctors’ interests in fair pay and working conditions and one that appeals to doctors’ duty to protect public health. We also suggest that doctors’ strikes can be supererogatory when they aim to correct a government failing in its own duty to protect public health. Finally, we assess the 2023 UK doctors’ strikes. We conclude that they are justified and there is a case for considering them supererogatory
Duty · Political science · Health and Conflict Studies · Healthcare cost, quality, practices · Healthcare Systems and Challenges · Law · Medicine · Philosophy
| Citations per year | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |