(Gig Harbor, WA) A couple of Julys ago, a friend of ours lost a son to suicide – a problem which continues to grow in the world. So at this time of year we reflect on what kind of world we’ve made that drives people to end life prematurely. A look at headlines is only part of it, but an important part, I expect.
But here lately, with the problems of Ebola, the stress of Ferguson, and more, we begin to wonder if increasing socioeconomic pressures globally might be ramping up (generalizing, if you will) the human death rate. Against this backdrop, might the methods and techniques of medicine be used to study socioeconomic issues in a new way by using patterns of analysis similar to those employed in epidemiology?
There’s animal research, human psychological research, and the evidence right before us with things like road rage and the like.
The most intriguing question, though, as we survey the deathidemic is this: Is more money a cure, or is it the vector of disease transmission? And when we get that one figured out, maybe we can work up a “treatment program” for humans. Well, at least, it’s a noble thought.
More practically, this morning we look at recent news as a disease and we look at how (like the flu) ideas get passed around and how the media “treats” outbreaks of socioeconomic disease.
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