Proportionate Universalism and Public Health

The article analyses the public health policy brief From Disparity to Potential by Dutch Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR). It argues that WRR presents a distinctive and novel brand of proportionate universalism, theory proposed Sir Michael Marmot (2010). situates in wider debate on universalism offers an evaluation from ethical perspective. WRR’s version exhibits three flaws: (1) definition socio-economic status is unduly focused education levels thus ignores important, health-relevant disparities; (2) whilst endorses subsidiarity, it remains governmental economic actors, ignoring importance voluntary associations such as churches faith-based organizations; (3) focus quantitative needs supplementing with theories good life, typically associated theological philosophical forms ethics originating premodern era.