Introduction
In the contemporary world, it is arguable to say that social facts are different from psychological, biological, or economic facts because they are anchored in collective attitudes and ideals and are hence social in nature. This paper analyzes Durkheim’s definition of social facts using suicide and infant mortality and defines toxic stress using the video by Rattle (2014) to show how infant mortality in Rochester, New York, is affected by toxic stress produced by the inner city environment. The research describes how toxic stress contributes to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and low birth weight, and gives ways on how the U.S. health services can devise policies to save pregnant women in areas of poverty. Finally, the paper analyzes how Marx’s model of alienation is applied to social class and the nature of jobs under capitalism, how workers are alienated, and how the current jobs in the U.S. produce alienation.
Ways in which Durkheim’s Definition of Social Facts can be Applied to Suicide and Infant Mortality
Durkheim’s concept of social facts can be applied in two ways to suicide and infant mortality. First, as per Durkheim, social facts are “general throughout a given society at a given stage in that society’s evolution” (as cited in Edles & Appelrouth 2020, p. 122). Durkheim hypothesized that a natural or pathological propensity, which varies from nation to nation, may exist inside an individual’s personality structure and may induce individuals to commit suicide (Karlsson, 1999). Certain illness rates are generally steady within a particular population and noticeably vary amongst societies (Edles & Appelrouth, 2020). Therefore, according to Durkheim, both suicide and infant death are distinct social facts.
In the second approach, a social fact is characterized by any activity capable of exerting control over an individual’s extrinsic constraint. According to Durkheim, the inherent physical surroundings (climate, temperature) may have a similar influence (Edles & Appelrouth, 2020). Durkheim proposes that social facts be reflected in the geographical distribution of suicides that the normal rate of one region be transferred to its nearest neighbors, just as infant mortality rates are (Karlsson, 1999). As such, imitation is a replication inspired by the distinctive character of the manners, traditions, and practices in issue, as well as the special sentiments of admiration or compassion they evoke.
Explanation of Durkheim on How Suicide is Caused by Factors External to the Individual
External influences are the underlying cause of suicidal behavior in human beings. According to Durkheim, living in a poorly governed community or social group leads to “anomic” suicides, or suicides caused by integration (Edles & Appelrouth, 2021). In short, Durkheim argued that people, as animals, are not essentially moral and must learn morality from the outside (Edles & Appelrouth, 2021). In civilizations where standards are continuously shifting or there is a widespread lack of moral clarity, people’s capacity to simply define their purpose would be under relentless attack, resulting in suicide.
Excessive regulation may also contribute to fatalistic suicide, which is driven by external reasons. Through integration or altruistic suicide, Durkheim contends that factors external to a person induce suicide. Under some circumstances, Durkheim believed that close-knit communities may strip people of their capacity to make judgments, leading to suicides for the “good of the group” (Mueller et al., 2021, p. 2). He used the example of Hindu Sati, a rare type of suicidal behavior in which Hindu widows are forced to jump on their partner’s funeral pyre (Chandler, 2020). As a result, many of these locations are disproportionately susceptible to the formation of suicide clusters.
Definition of Toxic Stress and How the Video Shows that Infant Mortality in Rochester, New York, is Affected by Toxic Stress Produced by the Inner City Environment
Toxic stress is the body’s reaction to prolonged and severe stress in the absence of adequate caregiving. For example, when a youngster does not get the necessary assistance, their body is unable to switch off the stress reaction appropriately. This prolonged stress may affect a child’s body and brain, leading to permanent health issues. Based on the video by Maria Hinojosa, written by Rattle (2014), the inner city environment’s toxic stress has an effect on infant mortality in Rochester, New York. For instance, Sasha, who lost her child, acknowledged that she was under stress due to her unemployment, lack of food, and boyfriend’s abuse, which prompted her to scream for hours (Rattle, 2014). The accumulated stress created by the home environment affects both the baby and the mother’s stress response centers, leading to pre-term deliveries and, hence, infant death.
Toxic Stress Contributes to SIDS and Low Birth Weight
Toxic stress is a factor in SIDS and low birth weight. According to Rattle (2014), a woman’s body initiates early labor when accumulated stress impacts the stress responses of both the unborn child and the mother. In such a scenario, the infant’s brain is undeveloped, the region of the brain that regulates respiration and waking from sleep is immature, and SIDS is a possible cause of death. In addition, an early labor induced by the stress reaction of the mother and the baby may result in a low birth weight, since the kid is delivered before the typical gestational period. A low birth weight indicates that the baby’s brain has not fully developed, hence increasing the likelihood of SIDS-related death.
Two Ways on How the U.S. Health Services can use the Social Facts in the Video to Devise Better Policies to Serve Pregnant Women in Areas of Poverty
One of the ways the U.S. health services could use the social facts in the video “Surviving Year One” to devise a better way to serve pregnant women in areas of poverty is by increasing awareness of the use of prenatal care programs. According to Rattle (2014), prenatal care programs offer education on matters such as what to eat and the need for stress reduction during pregnancy. During the prenatal care program, there is a weekly medical check-up of the expectant mothers, which reduces the chances of pre-term births that result in infant mortality. However, according to Rattle (2014), foot soldiers have saved more than 5000 women per year by addressing their maternal healthcare needs. As a result, the United States healthcare system should deploy community nurses as foot soldiers to meet and educate young expectant mothers about pregnancy issues.
How Marx’s Model of Alienation Applied His View of Social Class to the Nature of Jobs under Capitalism
Karl Marx’s notion of alienation is expansive and has had a significant impact, particularly in the fields of philosophy and sociology. According to Marx, capitalists and proletarians are equally alienated, but each social class feels disengaged uniquely. The propertied class and the proletarian class exhibit the same human alienation (Karlsson, 1999). Nonetheless, the former class feels at liberty and empowered in this self-estrangement; it identifies disassociation as its own force and perceives a human life in it. The proletarian class feels obliterated, which implies it ceases to live in alienation; it recognizes its own helplessness and the truth of an inhuman life. The private property owner represents the conservative side of this opposition, while the proletariat represents the destructive side. From the former comes the activity of sustaining the antithesis, and from the latter, its destruction.
What Workers Alienated from in Marx’s Capitalist Theory
In a capitalist economy, workers are ostracized from the products of their labor. By only possessing the tools of production, capitalists may control the earnings of the company they own and get wealthy as a result (Karlsson, 1999). However, they can only generate a profit from the sale of items fully created by laborers. Thus, the products of labor benefit the capitalists, whose objectives are in opposition to those of the proletariat.
Workers are alienated by the act of working in the production of the product. Since capitalists control the enterprises where workers are employed, it is they, not the employees, who determine what commodities are produced, how they are produced, and under what working conditions (Karlsson, 1999). Consequently, the job is sometimes monotonous, repetitive, and even hazardous. Employment, which is theoretically the wellspring of human self-definition and freedom, is reduced to a requirement for survival.
Lastly, in a capitalist system, employees are alienated from other human beings. Competition exists among workers for employment and promotions. Therefore, the capitalists gain from this rivalry, not the proletariat because when the workers completive among themselves, their pay go down, but when companies completive among themselves, the commodity price are the one that is affected. Therefore, competition among workers is not only economically detrimental to employees but also alienates them from one another.
Ways in which Some Current American Jobs Produce Alienation
One way in which American employment causes alienation is via pay coercion. According to Miller (2020), in America, black employees continue to earn less than their white counterparts, with black males earning an average of 87 cents for each dollar earned by a white man. The African American laborer is compelled to perform undesirable labor as a matter of survival; the labor is not voluntary but rather compelled. Moreover, the worker may only refuse wage compulsion at the cost of their own life and that of their household. In a capitalist society, the means of subsistence are dependent on monetary exchange; hence, individuals have little option but to sell their labor power and become subject to the capitalist’s dictates.
Work automation contributes to the alienation of American workers. According to Stubbs (2022), one-fourth of U.S. employees are “high-risk” for automation because at least 70 percent of their duties might be performed by robots. Automation either replaces employees with impersonal computers or improves their abilities while the robots do menial tasks. In essence, labor is external to the worker; it is not an important part of human existence (Karlsson, 1999). Therefore, instead of being free and aware, a person’s thinking is controlled and directed by capitalists.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Durkheim defines social facts in two ways: social facts are general throughout a given society at a given stage in that society’s evolution, and social facts are characterized by any activity capable of exerting control over an individual’s extrinsic constraint. Such social facts are suicide and infant mortality, which toxic stress produces through an accumulative build-up of stress caused by poverty and other external life stressors as indicated in low birth weights in Rochester, New York. Toxic stress can also be a result of job coercion and automation as described by Marx’s model of alienation. In this case, the U.S. health services should use such programs as foot soldier community nurses and pre-natal care services to reduce SIDS resulting from toxic stress.
References
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Edles, L. D., & Appelrouth, S. (2020). Sociological theory in the classical era. (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Karlsson, E. (Trans.). (1999). Social facts and suicide. [PDF document].
Miller, S. (2020). Black workers still earn less than their white counterparts. SHRM. Web.
Mueller, A. S., Abrutyn, S., Pescosolido, B., & Diefendorf, S. (2021). The social roots of suicide: Theorizing how the external social world matters to suicide and suicide prevention. Frontiers in Psychology, 12(1), 1-14. Web.
Rattley, S. (Writer), & Mangin,C., & Shebar, B. ((Directors). (2014). Surviving year one (Season 1, episode 7) [TV series episode]. In M. Hinojosa., M. Nelson., & M. Spanninger (Executive Producers), America by the numbers with Maria Hinojosa. PBS. Web.
Stubbs, A. (2022). American workers feel alienated, helpless and overwhelmed – here’s one way to alleviate their malaise. The Conversation. Web.