Lynch and Raphael, Canadian pathologists, after a brisk, brief description of the "ideal totality that is social medicine" (in the words of Sigerist and Sand), describe the development and present condition of state medicine in Germany, Austria, Russia, Britain, Sweden, and New Zealand. The medical profession's tardiness, fragmentation, political ineptitude, and failure in opposing establishment of socialized systems is plainly outlined. Australia's program of state subsidy of an essentially free enterprise mechanism with minimal governmental control is contrasted with the nationalized systems in other countries.
The purpose of the book is to strengthen "the conviction, the resolve and dedication of the (still) free." The book, obviously written from the viewpoint of the medical profession, fur thers its purpose by illustrating how, under state medicine, the cost of medical care mushrooms, the doctor-patient relationship degenerates from one of mutual trust to one of mutual distrust, the doctor's visit degenerates into a