Questions of health and wealth have been perennial human preoccupations. At the beginning of the twenty-first century economists and social and policy scientists continue to puzzle over this philosopher's stone. In a world that values democracies, how can we achieve both wealth and health for all, while maintaining our freedoms and the integrity of our environment? The twelve essays in this volume offer an historian's perspective on aspects of these problems. The essays in Part I cast a critical, historical eye over some of the most influential, general approaches to understanding the relationship between demographic change and economic development during the postwar era. The essays in Part II present original research on relevant aspects of modern British history and offer an alternative interpretation of the principal causes of mortality change consequent on the industrial revolution. The articles in Part III use the historical research presented in the first two parts to address contemporary policy issues and ideas concerning health and wealth.

Historical research and the historical perspective can contribute in various ways to the dialogue over wealth and health. One way is by locating historically the most influential theories and models, which guide our thinking today. This is the method exemplified by the essays in Part I, which use an historical approach to place in perspective current debates over the future of the population health approach and to evaluate critically two highly influential general models of the relationship between wealth and health: the theory of demographic transition and the “McKeown” thesis.