Health and Class Position

Evidently, your class position will determine the likelihood of your health. In the New York Times article, the notion of health being correlated with class status is presented. By differentiating the lives of three individuals, all with different class backgrounds, and their unique experience with a heart attack, it is clearly observable that the higher you class position the better health you will enjoy.

Indeed, one can stipulate that it is a person decision to be healthy rather than blame the outcome of ones health on economic forces. However, after being presented with three cases it is hard to ignore the underlying facts. It is important to note that those with a higher-class position enjoy a greater social and income capital. The benefit of income and health capital is illustrated with Jean Miel. As a successful architecture employed by a reputable firm, Jean Miel benefited by the high income his employment came with. As a result, after being stricken by a heart attacj he was able to afford costly medical bills at an “up scale” hospital. In addition, through social capital, Miel was able to get referenced to specialists. Furthermore, Miels brother Joel who is a “chairman of the board of another hospital, asked his hospital’s president to call New York University, for Miel was being treated at the New York University Medical Center. Through his high income, which allowed his to take time off his job, and through his social he was able to recuperate successfully and improve his health.

This was not the case for Ewa Gora or Will Wilson. Although, Ewa Gora is subjectively positioned in the lower class and Will Wilson is known to be in the middle class, they both have struggles because of their heart attack. They did not have the same amount of stable income Miel counted with. In particular, Gora struggled with her medical payments and struggled with doctors who were not as good as Miels. While Wilon was a bit better of than Gora, they both have struggled with their diets and health. They did not count with the same amount of resources Miel did, especially in social capital, standard doctors treated both Gora and Wilson.

It should be noted that health could be determined by owns class position. The New York Times article illustrates this notion. While health can be influenced by oneself, it is observable that health is also influenced by social factors such as income and social capital.