The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone

More equal societies work better for everyone - claim Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett in their book The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone.

The authors point out that the life-diminishing results of valuing growth above equality in rich societies can be seen all around us. Inequality causes shorter, unhealthier and unhappier lives; it increases the rate of teenage pregnancy, violence, obesity, imprisonment and addiction; it destroys relationships between individuals born in the same society but into different classes; and its function as a driver of consumption depletes the planet's resources. The graphs also reveal that it is not just the poor, but whole societies, from top to bottom, that are adversely affected by inequality.

Further information

Richard Wilkinson is a British researcher in social inequalities in health and the social determinants of health.

To get and idea of his book and work, go to http://www.eurohealthnet.eu/images/stories/EquityWeek/presentations/equitychannel_wilkinson.pdf

Related links

The Equality Trust, UK