Originally coined in 1845 by German philosopher Friedrich Engels, it has since been used by left-wing politicians, journalists and activists to describe deaths they attribute to larger social forces.
In his opinion, at fault was "the class which at present holds social and political control" (i.e. the bourgeoisie), who placed hundreds of proletarians in a position where they inevitably met an early and unnatural death.
[9] Author and journalist Chris Hedges claims "ruling elites" are the "architects of social murder" by accelerating ecological collapse and climate change: What is taking place is not neglect.
[10]In the United Kingdom, consistent cuts of healthcare and public services spending, together with a push towards privatized jobs with poor conditions, are argued to be the same kind of consequences that Engels saw in the 1840s.
[12] After the December 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, an opinion piece by New York Intelligencer argued that the company's policies and practices related to denying coverage for essential medical treatments fall under the concept of social murder, also noting that it could have potentially contributed as a motive for the attack.