Societal inequality has been found to harm the mental and physical health of its members and undermine overall social cohesion. Here, we tested the hypothesis that economic inequality is associated with a wish for a strong leader in a study involving 28 countries from five continents (Study 1, N = 6,112), a study involving an Australian community sample (Study 2, N = 515), and two experiments (Study 3a, N = 96; Study 3b, N = 296). We found correlational (Studies 1 and 2) and experimental (Studies 3a and 3b) evidence for our prediction that higher inequality enhances the wish for a strong leader. We also found that this relationship is mediated by perceptions of anomie, except in the case of objective inequality in Study 1. This suggests that societal inequality enhances the perception that society is breaking down (anomie) and that a strong leader is needed to restore order (even when that leader is willing to challenge democratic values).
The health of a population and the development of health services in a country at a particular time in history are directly linked to the socioeconomic system. This paper discusses health and health services in Malay Peninsula during the time that it was a British colony. Economic production under British colonialism, which is basically a capitalist system, is organized primarily for the purpose of realizing profits. The health of the population is in direct conflict with and generally subordinated to this main objective. The pattern of health that emerges reflects this general framework. Moreover, health services under the colonialist system are developed primarily to serve the economic interests of the colonialists. Hence, the structure of health services is biased toward curative medicine and centered mainly in the urban areas.
The Chinese minority plays a dominant role in the economies of Indonesia and Malaysia, a fact that evokes indigenous resentment. However, Indonesia and Malaysia dealt differently with the issue. Malaysia legislated the Malays into the economy and protected Chinese citizenship, making them an integral part of a multicultural state. By contrast, New Order Indonesia adopted policies of economic manipulation, forced assimilation, and unequal citizenship. Only when the New Order regime fell did Chinese integration begin. The policy trajectories of Indonesia and Malaysia offer important lessons for plural states.