Received: from localhost (gimenez@localhost) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.8.4/8.8.4/CNS-4.1p-nh) with SMTP id KAA24262; Thu, 4 Jun 1998 10:25:31 -0600 (MDT) Date: Thu, 4 Jun 1998 10:25:31 -0600 (MDT) From: Martha Gimenez To: ppn@csf.Colorado.EDU, PSN@CSF.COLORADO.EDU Subject: Class and Mortality Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Richard Sennett wrote years ago about "the hidden injuries of class" meaning, if I recall correctly, the psychological effects of being working class. Class location produces other hidden injuries which, according to an article published yesterday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, contribute to explain the higher death rate among the poor. The poor have a death rate about three times higher than other groups and about 13 percent of this difference is accounted for by unhealthy habits such as lack of exercise, smoking, excessive drinking and overeating. Most of that difference is accounted for by "lack of medical care, the stress of poverty, dangerous jobs and polluted homes and neighborhoods." The author concludes that even if the poor were to adopt healthier behavior patterns their higher death rates would remain. Sociologically, this is a very interesting albeit distressing instance of structural determination. These days it is the fashion to "privilege" agency over structure, thus mirroring the voluntarism and individualism prevalent in the culture. But some social phenomena are irreducible to microfoundations and, while healthier habits might add years to the lives of some individuals, the fate of the poor as reflected in the death rate will remain unchanged in the absence of structural change. in solidarity, Martha ****************** Martha E. Gimenez Department of Sociology University of Colorado at Boulder http://csf.colorado.edu/gimenez/