Individualism as Habitus: Reframing the Relationship between Income Inequality and Health

D. Adjaye-Gbewonyo

Abstract


Public health literature has demonstrated a negative effect of income inequality on a number of health outcomes. Researchers have attempted to explain this phenomenon, drawing on psychosocial and neo-materialist explanations. This paper argues, however, that these approaches fail to recognize the crucial role of culture, focusing specifically on the cultural value of individualism. Through a review of the literature and Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of practice as a theoretical framework, I provide support for the proposition that an ideology based in individualism is the context within which income inequality, social fragmentation, material deprivation, and consequently poor health outcomes are produced. I further offer recommendations for continued research into the role of cultural determinants in the income inequality-health relationship.

Keywords


culture, Bourdieu, income distribution, public health

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5195/hcs.2017.239

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