Marxist functionalism in medicine: A critique of the work of Vicente Navarro on health and medicine

Abstract

A detailed examination is made of the writings of Vicente Navarro dealing with health and medicine. Following a statement of criticisms these are examined in detail with reference to sources. The paper concludes with a review of Navarro's writing on Chile which is seen as an example of how a specific brand of deterministic functionalism can be reinforced by a particular political experience.