How Politics Makes Us Sick by Schrecker, Ted; Bambra, Clare;

Long description:

This book makes a powerful case that neoliberalism, the dominant economic and social policy paradigm of the post-1980 world, is hazardous to our health. It describes the destructive effects on health and health inequalities of neoliberal policies including labour market deregulation, welfare state retrenchment, and austerity, drawing on cross-national examples particularly from the United States and the United Kingdom.

The book argues that a variety of adverse health outcomes, and in particular health inequalities, must be seen as ‘neoliberal epidemics’: neoliberal because they are associated with the rise of neoliberal politics; epidemics because they have been rapidly transmitted across borders at a rate seen in epidemics of biological contagions.

The health case against neoliberalism has strengthened dramatically in the decade since the first edition was published and this fully updated and expanded edition provides a comprehensive overview of the main issues. Articulating alternatives that protect the health of people and planet is more urgent than ever. Crucially, the authors argue that neoliberal epidemics require a political cure in the form of a revitalised and equity-oriented social democracy.

Table of Contents:

Introduction.- Neoliberalism: What it is and what it does.- The ‘inequality machine’.- The many dimensions of insecurity: How politics makes our work and lives precarious.- Explanations: How neoliberalism gets under our skin.- Austerity: how politics pulled away our safety net.- ‘Lethal but legal’: The corporate connections (commercial determinants of health).- Pandemics: How politics exposes us.- Building back better?.