Political economic systems and the health of populations: Historical thought and current directions

Abstract

Today, when disease-producing features of the workplace and environment threaten the survival of humanity and other life forms, it is not surprising that conditions of society that generate illness and mortality, as well as the impact of a society's political economic system on these conditions, would receive attention. However, there is a long history of research and analysis about the relationships among political economic systems, the social determinants of health, and the health of populations that has been neglected. As such this work tends to be forgotten and rediscovered with each succeeding generation. In this chapter, I trace some historical roots of work on political economici systems and their relationship to health and illness. I describe critically some of the main recent findings in this area and implications for research and potential intervention efforts that focus on the impact of political economic system on health. © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.