in Esperanto
Chapter 5: SKETCH OF COMMUNIST SOCIETY -- WELFARE
3. People enjoy comfortable and complete care system.
3.1. Public long-term care
The advanced capitalist society almost overlaps with the longevity society. However, a long-lived society is also a society in which the number of elderly people requiring nursing care increases and the burden of nursing care is placed on society. On the other hand, it is not possible for a small nuclear family with limited manpower to take on all nursing responsibilities.
Therefore, by commercializing nursing care, capitalism moves in the direction of entrusting nursing care services to highly profitable nursing care providers. As a result, the benefits of long-term care services become a beneficiary-pays burden, and long-term care labor becomes highly exploitative and high-density labor.
Contrary to such a direction, communism will establish nursing care as a public service while building a nursing care system that responds flexibly to needs. Specifically, the home care system will be highly enhanced, but "at home" is not limited to the literal home. Numerous public housing with public care will be prepared for the elderly, where caregivers and nurses will be stationed, and it will be possible to move in at any time for free.
By expanding the concept of "at home" in this way, a home care system based on advanced mutual assistance will be constructed, eliminating the need for typical facility care such as traditional nursing homes. As a result, categorization such as at-home or facility becomes relative.
3.2. Integration of nursing care and medical care
The front line of communist nursing care is handled at the commune level, which is the base of life-related administration, unlike regional medical care. Specifically, a public care station will be set up in each district of the commune. In addition to home helpers, home-visit nurses and doctors who specialize in geriatric medicine are stationed here, making it possible to fuse nursing care and medical care.
Individuals who wish to receive nursing care can select their desired care programs based on the doctor's accurate diagnosis and advice. This nursing care station operates 24 hours a day, and even at night it is possible to request the dispatch of helpers and nurses as needed. In addition, it will be a one-stop type with an outpatient daycare function that meets the needs of the individual and his/her family.
On the other hand, atients with multiple illnesses requiring full-time nursing care or patients with advanced dementia who are difficult to care for can be admitted to a hospital-type public long-term sanatorium free of charge.
Furthermore, although the provision of unique services by private nursing care volunteer organizations that cannot be covered by public services is not excluded, they will also be registered with the commune and subject to public supervision.
3.3. Partnership-type retirement model
As the number of elderly people living alone increases as a result of nuclear families, it is likely that some people will say that a completely universal nursing care system is an unrealistic dream. Therefore, in recent years, in response to the rising rate of non-marriage, a self-contained retirement model for elder singles is sometimes recommended.
At first glance, this seems to be an argument in line with social reality. However, in the reality of a capitalist society where nursing care services have been commoditized, it is nothing less than a model for the old age of the petite bourgeoisie and above who have a principle of living alone and sufficient pension income, assets, and reliable personal connections that can be used for single life in old age.
In contrast, the so-called "lonely death" problem symbolizes the difficulty of post-retirement life for the proletarian class, who have nothing. Singles in the proletariat class are reserve forces for lonely death.
On that point, as we saw in Chapter 3, since the notarized partnership in a communist society is a system that is easy to use for partnerships between unmarried elderly people, the number of elderly households choosing the partnership may increase.
Of course, a public nursing care system based on communist mutual assistance would also be beneficial for singles. In that respect, the Social Work Councils set up in each section will incorporate the elderly living alone into the service network as a priority target in the social service plan within the section under their jurisdiction.
