[lbo-talk] let's argue about the cause of mental illness

[Somebody Somebody]

However you frame it, Russia's health overall is pretty lousy.
As you say, it's concentrated in higher mortality rates among the
middle aged. But, even for women, life expectancy is down a bit from a
peak in the mid 80's, and is scarcely better than it was in the 1960's.
Is alcohol only to blame? There's no excuse in the modern era for
anything except gradually improving public health. Sorry, but Russia
can do better, vodka or no vodka.

You make a good point about Russian Muslims being healthier than the rest of the population due to their more stringent religious code regarding alcohol. You see this same sort of disparity in Africa, where HIV rates are much, much lower in the Arab north than they are even in places like West Africa, where rates of infection are modest compared to the the countries around South Africa. Presumably, this is in part due to cultural prohibitions against promiscuity and, let's be blunt, oppression of women. Of course, socialist countries often had a puritanical streak reminiscent of certain aspects of the Islamic world. The solution isn't a return to traditionalism however, but a combination of affluence, education, and easy access to health care and contraception.