The Death System

Turning from the individual to the society, it is easy to see many places where
death plays an important role in social life. Robert Kastenbaum has characterized
this as the “death system.” Just as society has many systems to deal
with essential functions, such as the economic system, the educational system,
and the transportation system, society must also deal with death on a
daily basis. The death system would include, among other matters, all that is
involved with the disposition of the dead body: the church or other religious
organization, the funeral arrangements, the cemetery. A large number of
people are involved, in one way or another, in this aspect of the death system.
Although the funeral business has taken its share of criticism, some of it
undoubtedly deserved, it fills a need that the majority of people in Western
society have.

The death system also has other functions. Already noted is the care of
the dying, which involves a large part of the health care system in the United
States as well as family and friends and organizations such as hospice. One
might also include in the death system the many aspects of society which are
involved in trying to prevent death, from police officers to the national Centers
for Disease Control to the hurricane warning center to the manufacturer
of railroad crossing signals. Actually, few people in the United States
do not have at least a peripheral connection to the death system. Many florists,
for example, say that half or more of their business is providing flowers
and wreaths for funerals and for cemetery plots.