Symbolic capital, consumption, and health inequality.

Abstract

Research on economic inequalities in health has been largely polarized between psychosocial and neomaterial approaches. Examination of symbolic capital--the material display of social status and how it is structurally constrained--is an underutilized way of exploring economic disparities in health and may help to resolve the existing theoretical polarization. In contemporary society, what people do with money and how they consume and display symbols of wealth may be as important as income itself. After tracing the historical rise of consumption in capitalist society and its interrelationship with economic inequality, I discuss evidence for the role of symbolic capital in health inequalities and suggest directions for future research.