Deaton explores the rising mortality rates among working class Americans, driven by suicide, drug overdose, and alcohol related diseases – collectively termed ‘deaths of despair’. The authors link these trends to economic inequality, the decline of stable jobs, weakening social structures, and a failing healthcare system. They argue that capitalism, as currently practiced in the US, disproportionately benefits the wealthy while leaving behind large segments of the population, they call for systemic reforms to restore dignity, opportunity, and health to working class lives.