ABSTRACT
The concept of the Anthropocene can be helpful in framing how we rethink and re-envision healthcare. As evidence emerges for the unprecedented harmful impact of our species on the planet, alongside the outrage and distress comes a realisation that if we are to survive, we must upturn many of our ideas and assumptions about what a health system looks like, and how central to this is a collective public health approach. Unequal living conditions must be tackled both within countries and globally as inequality undermines the idea that we are all in this together. We are at a ‘moment of change’, which will have grave significance for how we care for each other and our environment. We need to find ways to share basic healthcare provisions with one another in interdependent systems of care, instead of overly depending on hierarchical expertise and costly technology. If we get this right, we may be able to forge a more flourishing era in which our care for one another is the foundation for more resilient and harmonious lives.
