How Politics Makes Us Sick - by T Schrecker & C Bambra (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Ted Schrecker and Clare Bambra argue that the obesity, insecurity, austerity and inequality that result from neoliberal (or 'market fundamentalist') policies are hazardous to our health, asserting that these neoliberal epidemics require a political cure.

Review Quotes

"This book makes a valuable contribution to politicising the inequality in its various forms and the effects of inequality on health. It is a powerful antidote to the dominance of the lifestyle discourse that focuses on the individual. ... The book will be of interest to public health policy makers and practitioners; public health advocacy groups; and students of social and public health policy." (Professor Karen Willis, Australian & New Zealand Journal of Public Health, Vol. 41 (2), April, 2017)

"Schrecker and Bambra marshal solid, cross-national evidence and clear arguments to make a compelling and incriminatory case against neoliberalism and the epidemics it has engendered. ... the authors call for revitalising solidarity-oriented social democratic welfarestates to reverse the neoliberal clawbacks of the past decades." (Anne-Emanuelle Birn, The Lancet, Vol. 388, July, 2016)

"Public Health scholars Schrecker and Bambra (both, Durham Univ., UK) analyze the impacts of three decades of neoliberal economic policies on the health of the British and American people. ... This book is suited for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and scholars in public health, social welfare, and domestic policies in the US, UK, and wealthy democracies. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above." (D. B. Robertson, Choice, Vol. 53 (6), February, 2016)

About the Author

Ted Schrecker is Professor of Global Health Policy at Durham University, UK. He previously taught environmental studies, political science and population health, and worked as a legislative researcher and consultant for many years.

Clare Bambra is Professor of Public Health Geography and Director of the Centre for Health and Inequalities Research, Durham University, UK. Her research focuses on the effects of labour markets, health and welfare systems on health inequalities.