How Inequality Kills

[Naturyl]

By Julian Edney:

Most of us don’t read the scientific health journals, so we’ve missed this news. Research has appeared in the United States and Britain, over the last ten years, saying more than any physical cause of death like cigarettes, obesity, accidents, alcohol or pollution, a more potent killer is the shape of the society we live in...

...We’ve always known poverty is correlated with poor health. But separately, if you measure the inequality of any society—its shape, hierarchical or egalitarian—and if you correlate that with infant mortality, or death from violence, or life expectancy, the correlation number jumps off the page.

Now a whole book of collected reports has been published, showing the same patterns (4). Whether researchers compare different countries, different cities or different states, steeply unequal societies show more breakdown. Violence is up, health is down, infant mortality is up, life expectancy is shorter—and this affects all levels of society. Egalitarian societies are simply healthier.

http://baltimorechronicle.com/2006/033006Edney.shtml

[panader0]

1. This didn't need to be researched (over the last ten years)

This has been the case forever. Add to the list: death from war. The rich aren't in the service. I am poor, and know many worse than me. Some have been homeless from time to time, camping out. All, like me have no health care. Many have adopted a defeatist attitude, but most are hard workers in some trade, just can't find work, and die young.

[bobbolink]

2. If research isn't needed, what is needed?

Where do we go from here?

[bobbolink]

3. Excellent article. Thanks for posting!

The US is now one of the most unequal societies---almost like a third-world country.

What to do?