One of the recent (well, sort of recent) news stories that has caught my attention is the rising death rate for middle-aged working-class white Americans.
Quote: You may read the entire article here:http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2015/11/white-americas-mortality-crisis.html What I found particularly interesting about articles on this story were the frequent comparisons to the increase in the death rate for Russian men following the collapse of the Soviet Union. My own suspicion is that the rise in the death rate for working-class white Americans came about following the implementation of neoliberal economic policies (union busting, outsourcing, cuts to social spending, etc.) in many areas of the country. Many formerly prosperous towns are now pretty much depressed husks. Things in the United States continue to worsen for working people as can be seen by the fact that the suicide rate is now at a 30-year high. See: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/22/health/us-suicide-rate-surges-to-a-30-year-high.html?_r=0 Do any comrades here see parallels between the collapse of the Soviet Union and the devastation wrought by neoliberalism in the United States or other countries? |
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