Why some politicians are more dangerous to your health than others - James Gilligan

Politicians and the political process, even in ostensibly democratic
countries, can be deadly. James Gilligan has discovered a devastating
truth that has been "hiding in plain sight" for the past century -
namely, that when America's conservative party, the Republicans, have
gained the presidency, the country has repeatedly suffered from
epidemics of violent death. Rates of both suicide and homicide have
sky-rocketed. The reasons are all too obvious: rates of every form of
social and economic distress, inequality and loss - unemployment,
recessions, poverty, bankruptcy, homelessness also ballooned to epidemic
proportions. When that has happened, those in the population who were
most vulnerable have "snapped", with tragic consequences for everyone.

These epidemics of lethal violence have then remained at epidemic levels
until the more liberal party, the Democrats, regained the White House
and dramatically reduced the amount of deadly violence by diminishing
the magnitude of the economic distress that had been causing it.

This pattern has been documented since 1900, when the US government
first began compiling vital statistics on a yearly basis, and yet it has
not been noticed by anyone until now except with regard to suicide in
the UK and Australia, where a similar pattern has been described.

This
book is a path-breaking account of a phenomenon that has implications
for every country that presumes to call itself democratic, civilized and
humane, and for all those citizens, voters and political thinkers who
would like to help their country move in that direction.