By combining the results of prospective and other studies with cross-national and time series analyses of death rates, it is possible to roughly quantify the relative contribution of various causal factors to excess mortality. When coronary heart disease is treated in this way, it is apparent that broad social forces are its main causal factors. Primary among these forces are overwork and various kinds of social disruption. These in turn are at the center of the typical social transformation which accompanies modern economic growth (capitalism).