Extra Credit: NYT Ch.2 "Life at the Top Isn't Just Better, It's Longer"

The stark differences in the health outcomes of the three interviewees based on their class status is deeply startling. The chapter clearly indicates how one’s class status is a large constituent of the strength of that person’s health. However, it is also interesting to examine this chapter through the lens of Bourdieu-ian concepts: economic, cultural, and social capital.

Obviously, economic capital is vital in determining the health of a person because it determines whether or not someone has the financial access to a healthier lifestyle. The resources one can purchase include healthy foods, medical services (including checkups and surgeries), and medicine. For example, Will Wilson, the middle-class, heart attack survivor, was partly able to live because of the effective medicine (though expensive) he was able to buy after his incident.

Cultural capital is also essential in ensuring the longevity of one’s life, especially in emergency situations like a heart attack. There are various kinds of cultural capital involved in a medical situation or an interaction between a doctor and a patient. It is useful to know simply how to communicate with someone of professional status (the doctor), the standard medical procedures that will be carried (such as checking for heart pressure), and also to be aware of the medical jargon that the institution uses. This was illustrated in the case of Ewa Gora, the working class interviewee, who had difficulty comprehending the graveness of her condition. Although she was not a native-English speaker (which might have been the barrier to understanding), Gora did not know what it meant for her body to have a heart attack or how her health choices affected her chances of having one again. After her first attack, Gora eventually picked up bad eating habits again as well as smoking.

Part of the reason Jean Miele, a member of the upper middle class, was able to survive his heart attack was because of the social capital he had. Miele developed a good relationship with his doctor, Dr. Hayes, and regularly checked in with him and with the way he worked. Miele’s wife would leave the doctor’s number with her husband so he could call him if strange symptoms arose. The doctor knew that Miele was impatient and would leave if he waited long in the reception room, so Dr. Hayes ensured that he was given prompt care. This kind of relationship was not shown in the other cases in the chapter, which shows how Miele’s social capital was one advantage he had towards his recovery.

Thus, although class is an important predictor of one’s outcomes in health, it is more essential to examine the different aspects of class: economic, cultural, and social capital. This chapter then shows how the more capital one has (out of any of the three) is more likely to recover from emergencies and find/provide for services that can improve their health.