Deindustrialization, social disintegration, and health: a neoclassical sociological approach

Abstract Deindustrialization is a major burden on workers’ health in many countries, calling for theoretically informed sociological analysis. Here, we present novel neoclassical synthesis of the lived experience deindustrialization. We conceptualize industry as social institution whose disintegration has widespread implications fabric. Combining Durkheimian and Marxian categories, show that deindustrialization generates ruptures economic production, which entail job income loss, increased exploitation, inequality, disruption services. These spill over to field reproduction, generating material deprivation, strain, fatalism, domestic workload, anomie, community disintegration, alienation. reproduction are sources psychosocial stress, through gets embodied ill dysfunctional behavior. substantiate this framework extensive qualitative thematic analysis 82 life history interviews Hungary’s rust belt.