Driving into the parking lot of Whole Foods next to the Duke campus is akin to parking in the middle of an Obama rally. Many of the cars are adorned with Obama/Biden stickers, various anti-Bush decals, and pleas to stop the rising seas before it’s too late. Still, I love the store and about once a week, happily pull my four-wheel-drive SUV into a spot next to a ubiquitous celery-green hybrid.

I can only imagine the horror of the Whole Foods-shopping Duke liberals who read this Wall Street Journal piece by Whole Foods co-founder and CEO John Mackey, who opposes the push for a government takeover of the health care sector. Mr. Mackey also — hold onto your seat — rejects the idea that health care is a right. From Mr. Mackey’s piece:

Many promoters of health-care reform believe that people have an intrinsic ethical right to health care—to equal access to doctors, medicines and hospitals. While all of us empathize with those who are sick, how can we say that all people have more of an intrinsic right to health care than they have to food or shelter?

Health care is a service that we all need, but just like food and shelter it is best provided through voluntary and mutually beneficial market exchanges. A careful reading of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution will not reveal any intrinsic right to health care, food or shelter. That’s because there isn’t any. This “right” has never existed in America.

Kudos to Mr. Mackey, a man who knows very well the power of competition, choice, and market forces — and a man who thankfully understands the Constitution.

To learn more about the benefits and value of consumer-driven health care reform, attend one of the John Locke Foundation’s health care events. Things kick off in Asheville tonight. You’ll find a list of all the events here. The Triangle get-together will be held in Cary on Tuesday, August 25. Information here.