In his book Entrenchment, Paul Starr (2019: xii) writes:
A society's entrenched features—the foundational features that are hardest to change—shape what kind of society it is. They establish its moral and political character and influence its economic performance. They have often arisen through great struggles and may later become the subject of high-stakes conflict. Whether we want to preserve those entrenched realities or entrench new ones, we need to understand entrenchment itself.
Examining the implications of entrenchment for health equity and policy is the focus of this special issue. Though the six articles presented here range widely in their substantive foci, they circle around a number of core questions. Why should advocates, policy makers, and scholars care about entrenchment? How is entrenchment politics shaping the prospects for robust government action to promote population health and better outcomes for marginalized communities? What reforms must be successfully embedded if...
