Are social causes so different from all other causes? A comment on Sander Greenland

Greenland proposes a counterfactual definition of a cause which is framed in terms of alternative actions with different potential outcomes. He suggests that, under this framework, social conditions – such as socioeconomic status, sex, or race – present a quandary for causal inference. They cannot be considered as causes unless they can be reframed in terms of alternative actions. Greenland's approach to this problem is, thankfully, not to dismiss social causes, but rather to "identify potential causes within ordinary events". He suggests that we consider alternative actions to change social conditions, and their different potential outcomes.