Afscheid van de onwetendheid? De gevolgen van genetica op de maatschappelijke solidariteit

Samenvatting

This article explores the possible impact of genetic testing and genetic knowledge on solidarity and social justice. We analyze how the relationship between predictive techniques, risk differentiation, individualization, and solidarity could develop. To this end, we present a theoretical frame of "risk" based on risk and insurance literature. These studies reveal how the interaction between scientific developments and their social context gave rise to a redefinition of the concept of illness at the end of the 19th century. From an inescapable "fate," illness was transformed into a "collective shared risk." Based on this framework we hypothesize that a new risk discourse can be observed today: illness as an "individualized risk." We show which social conditions are related to this individualized risk, which are related to the individualized risk discourse, and which challenges these developments may constitute for societal values such as solidarity and political equality. 2 Tables, 50 References. Adapted from the source document.