Although we are prepared to spend dizzying sums on health care no one seems quite sure what health is. The World Health Organization made a bold offer in 1948. Their definition of health is ânot merely the absence of disease or infirmity but a state of complete physical, mental and social well-beingâ. But this utopian vision is an unattainable ideal, bearing no relation to the struggles of real people in an imperfect world.
Global comparison of severity. The Great Depression began in the United States of America and quickly spread worldwide. It had severe effects in countries both rich and poor. Personal income, consumption, industrial output, tax revenue, profits and prices dropped, while international trade plunged by more than 50%.
Social and Economic Effects of the Plague. The plague had large scale social and economic effects, many of which are recorded in the introduction of the Decameron. People abandoned their friends and family, fled cities, and shut themselves off from the world. Funeral rites became perfunctory or stopped altogether, and work ceased being done.