The House of Falk: the paranoid style in American health politics.

Abstract

The onset of the Cold War had a blighting effect on the campaign for a national health insurance program in the United States. In the highly charged atmosphere of the late 1940s, proponents of social insurance spent considerable time and energy denying that they were agents of foreign powers. In one widely promoted conspiratorial formulation, some on the right traced the origins of subversion not only to Moscow but also to Geneva, Switzerland, home of the International Labor Organization. In the fractiously partisan context of the period, conservative political leaders amplified concerns over disloyal bureaucrats' manipulating the levers of legislative politics as well as the design of health policy. One federal official in particular, I. S. Falk, became the object of outright demonization. The paranoid attacks took their toll on the drive to extend social protection. The reformers' difficulties suggest the limitations of heavy dependence on bureaucratic expertise in the pursuit of health security.

“What about building 7?” A social psychological study of online discussion of 9/11 conspiracy theories

“…In particular, Bratich (2008) has highlighted the hostility of intellectual orthodoxy toward conspiracist explanations for events and the labelling of conspiracists as paranoid or otherwise mentally ill (c.f. Hofstadter, 1964; Kalichman et al, 2010). At the same time, conspiracists are often hostile in a different way, dismissing conventionalists as naïve, gullible, and either unwitting dupes or willing stooges of the conspiracy (Crane, 2008; Byford, 2011).…”

Blending Powers: Hamilton, FDR, and the Backlash That Shaped Modern Congress

“…33 Falk, a senior official in the Social Security Administration and a confidant of Harry Hopkins, coordinated the drafting of universal healthcare legislation. 34 By the mid-1940s, Murray's committee staff had evolved into a satellite braintrust for FDR. Most were paid for by the executive agencies from which they were detailed.…”

Presidential Reorganization and the Politics of Public Agencies

“…Letters, phone calls, and telegrams flooded the White House; active grassroots campaigns helped support this counter-mobilization. 3 One widely disseminated editorial from Marjorie Shearon (titled the “Challenge to Socialism”) expressed specific concern about the SSB’s domination of FSA (and the PHS) and the ideological positions of lower ranking civil service officials there (including their loyalty) (March 8, 1953, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library [DDEL], White House Central Files [WHCF], General Files, Box 1286; generally, see Derickson, 1997). This opposition occurred even though Eisenhower had borrowed the AMA’s characterization of “socialized medicine” for his campaign (Sundquist, 1968, p. 290).…”