Читать книгу Health Psychology - Michael Murray - Страница 55

‘As in earlier times, advances in the 21st century will be won by human struggle against divisive values – and against the opposition of entrenched economic and political interests.’

Human Development Report (2000: 6)

Outline

We employ a wide-angle lens to explore the macro-social context for human health. We discuss the fact that what individuals can do to change their lives is not simply a matter of personal choice; choices are constrained biologically, culturally, economically and environmentally. In spite of medical and technological advances, population growth, the globalized promotion of unhealthy commodities, increasing poverty and the shrinking availability of natural resources, especially safe drinking water, are acting to worsen health globally. Universal gradients both within and between nations are persistent over time and space. The ‘doom and gloom’ prospects for human beings described in this chapter are not an inevitability, however. The prospects can be improved if elected governments take appropriate action to intervene independently from corporate interests.