Yet other rich countries, in Europe and elsewhere, face globalization and technological change but have not seen long-term stagnation of wages, nor an epidemic of deaths of despair. There is something going on in America that is different, and that is particularly toxic for the working class. Much of this book is concerned with trying to find out just what that something might be. We believe that the healthcare system is a uniquely American calamity that is undermining American lives.
