Book Review: Thieves of virtue: when bioethics stolemedicine

Bioethics emerged in the 1960s from a conviction that physicians and researchers needed the guidance of philosophers in handling the issues raised by technological advances in medicine. In this book, Tom Koch argues that bioethics has failed to deliver on its promises and has promoted a view of medicine as a commodity whose delivery is predicated not on care but on economic efficiency. Edward Larkin thinks Koch provides an interesting history of the field, but he unnecessarily blames bioethicists for recent developments in health care and medicine.