Contributor(s): Dr David Stuckler | The Body Economic puts forward a radical proposition. Austerity, it argues, is seriously bad for your health. We can prevent financial crises from becoming epidemics, but to do so, we must acknowledge what the hard data tells us: that, throughout history, there is a causal link between the strength of a community's health and its social protection systems. Now and for generations to come, our commitment to the building of fairer, more equal societies will determine the health of our body economic. David Stuckler is a Senior Research Leader in Sociology at the University of Oxford. He is co-author with Sanjay Basu of The Body Economic.