Suicide is something that I don't get. Not that I can't see why some people would commit it, but that they don't go and try to pull some amazing crazy stuff before they go. Everybody just blows their brains out without doing anything great before it. I mean if you're about to commit suicide wouldn't you say, "Hey, you know, it'd be great to go moon that cop that has a speed trap over on 38th." Or, "you know, it'd be pretty cool to go up to the hottest chick and say, "you're too fat for me." Or rack up a huge bill at some ritzy restaurant and then just say, "Eh, I don't feel like paying, besides which I'm dying tomorrow, so what are you going to do about it?" Not to mention cliff jumping, sky diving, you name it.
However, from an economics perspective what I don't get is how Australia and Ireland have some of the highest suicide rates. Their economies have been growing by leaps and bounds and then everybody offs themselves? I mean the French I could understand, but the Irish?
Frank you got any theories??
Originally I'd have offered that suicide is an introspection that generally requires at least a bit of wealth, as an explanation.
ReplyDeleteDis-satisfaction with life is usually less common among the truly poor - they're generally too busy trying to survive, as were earlier generations, which tended to have lower suicide rates than today.
BUT, that doesn't explain Russia and most of the nations of the former USSR (alcohol?) and China (though China's undergoing a growth explosion and an incredible market-based economic boom - maybe the suicide rate is higher among those more well-off and with more time on their hands? (a stretch, by any means).
And of course that doesn't explain why the Aussies and Irish have a higher suicide rate than, say, the Norwegians and Icelanders, which both have 1st world economies (like Ireland and Australia) and more labor strife. I believe Iceland leads the world in labor strikes.
I guess I have no idea.
Let me see what I've got.
ReplyDeleteBack in my sociology, undergrad days, Emile Durkheim claimed that suicide increased during times of economic booms and busts. So, maybe it's the rapid change that is doing this.
Also, depression correlates with suicide, and severe depression cuts off pleasure-seeking activities. I'd liken it to an inability to even think of these activities, much less solutions for the problems that are currently at hand.
So, maybe the social sciences weren't a total waste, but I'm not about to argue that more people should sign up.
Seems like there may be a correlation between wealth and suicide rate. The blue countries with low suicide numbers are all countries with a lower standard of living.
ReplyDeleteMy theory: the higher your living standard is, the higher the probability that you spend your time less working and more thinking about problems which don't really exist.
Theories? uh.... it's Capitalism dude! And Bush... And Howard... can't exclude those two. Sorry, no idea.
ReplyDeleteAs for "Not to mention cliff jumping, sky diving, you name it.", some would say that suicidal people do this already - without the parachute. Base jumping is especially popular.
Some studies indicate only the smart people capable to commit suicide.
ReplyDeletenational study
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=14604041&dopt=AbstractPlus
individual study
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/features/article996719.ece
You can see. Dump peole will never kill themself. Most animals will not kill themself.
to Captain, where do you get the graph?
ReplyDeleteI am ashamed to admit Wikipedia.
ReplyDeleteI feel so dirty.
Check the stats on Alcohol and Drug abuse in those countries and compare to a countries with lower sucide rates.
ReplyDeleteIreland and Australia I imagine have a high rate of alcoholism, you know how they love their pints.. Soviet block as well. While China has a huge opium addiction problem..
France and Germany... ...well, if you were French wouldn't you at least contimplate it??