For example, singapore has the highest income inequalities among all 23 countries discussed in the book see figure 2. A minor publishing sensation when it was published in march 2009, it used a series of scatter plots to make the case that income inequality is a major driver of a range of health and social problems. Certainly the work will continue, the authors work with the equality trust is just one sign that this is a. Mar 11, 2011 richard wilkinson, emeritus professor of epidemiology, nottingham university, spoke at simon fraser university in vancouver, canada about his book,the spirit level. In general, the criticisms of the spirit level identify some areas where further clarification of the argument is useful and has been forthcoming from the authors. The fantasyland of the spirit level and the limitations. This website exists as a forum for additional notes and discussion related to the book the spirit level delusion. Read the authors individual response to beware false prophets. Oct 12, 2010 both prime minister david cameron and labour leader ed miliband appear to be disciples of the spirit level, a book that claims to prove that britains unequal society is causing chronic health and. The authors respond to questions about the spirit levels analysis. Apr 08, 2010 the pathbreaking book, the spirit level showed how gross inequalities damage the whole of society.
The spirit level is easy to summarise the authors make two points. After reading the book, i became aware of criticism of their methodology, which lead me. A book well worth reading and one hopes politicians of all stripes take the time to read it. The formation of character in an age of inequality, and the epidemiologist michael. Click here for a 16 minute lecture by richard wilkinson on the spirit level. The spirit level is not on the level natalie evans. We should dislike inequality, in other words, because it produces anxiety and because such anxiety in turn leads to chronic stress, health problems, and other undesirable outcomes. Aug 01, 2010 the spirit level has done us a public service, bringing a debate about the merits of equality and inequality to the centre of public debate in the uk and elsewhere.
The spirit level was shortlisted for research project of the year 2009 by the times higher education supplement, and was chosen as one of the top ten books of the decade, by the new statesman. Predatory capitalism makes some of us poor and some of us rich, of course, but it also makes most of us sick, crimeridden and mador so two british social scientists contend. Why equality is better for everyone richard wilkinson marxism 2011. Apr 26, 2011 a fellow progressive friend of mine recommended that i read the spirit level. The spirit level by richard wilkinson and kate pickett. However, despite some issues which were raised within the group, and despite the above mentioned criticism from other academics, the spirit level remains a convincing hypothesis. So let me be more direct in my assessment of the spirit level.
The book goes to the heart of the apparent contrast between material success and social failure in many modern national societies. The spirit level slides from the equality trust recommended teaching techniques. The authors note that although income inequality matters in developing countries, it does so for different reasons. In many cases the correlations are not robust to the removal of outlying observations. This started life as a typo, but i liked it and used it throughout. The formation of character in an age of inequality.
The power of the book and its consequences are though dramatic. Apr 26, 2011 a book well worth reading and one hopes politicians of all stripes take the time to read it. The authors of the spirit level are responding to criticisms on the equality trust website. Level fills the bill as the standard bearer in a new war on inequality is testimony enough to the importance of this book. Jul 18, 20 i have heard a bunch of criticism of the spirit level book based on its sample and cheery picking note. Gross poverty is fine so long as there is not much inequality. But they do not overturn the basic message that greater inequality is linked to worse outcomes on a range of health and social measures. The pathbreaking book, the spirit level showed how gross inequalities damage the whole of society. The spirit level has done us a public service, bringing a debate about the merits of equality and inequality to the centre of public debate in the uk and elsewhere. In our book the spirit level, kate pickett and i demonstrated that, first, many problems which are more prevalent lower down the social ladder are worse in societies with bigger income differences, and second, that almost everyone would benefit from reduced inequality. But the spirit level also contributes to a longer view, sitting alongside richard sennetts 2003 book respect. An equal society is healthier,wealthier and socially more desirable. Certainly the work will continue, the authors work with the equality trust is just one sign that this is a idea which has more to give. Richard wilkinson and kate pickett, 2nd edition, penguin books, 2010.
The guardian uk the authors point out that the lifediminishing results of valuing growth above equality in. How do they work to undermine the psychogenic pump. Kate and richard use simple to read graphs and lead the reader through a variety of potential analysis before explaining why they have interpreted the data their way. That greater income inequality is closely correlated to a higher prevalence of a vast number of social problems and 2.
This is a book with a big idea, big enough to change political thinkingin half a page the spirit level tells you more about the pain of inequality than any play or novel could. I find the empirical data presented to be highly suggestive and interesting. This book will not convince those on the far right. Nov 04, 2010 richard wilkinson and kate picketts the spirit level. A few commentators seem to think im unsympathetic to the book, which isnt accurate. The following are five different youtube videos on the spirit level. In this assiduously researched book, the two british academics demonstrate a powerful link between income inequality and a host of social ills including obesity, teenage pregnancy, drug abuse and crime. The spirit level 5 outcome from a knowledge of others p. Why do americans have higher rates of teenage pregnancy than the french.
At the same time, the infant mortality rate in singapore is the lowest in the world figure 6. Do you have any sense that these insights are filtering into the. Mar 11, 2019 this website exists as a forum for additional notes and discussion related to the book the spirit level delusion. Why equality is better for everyone is the most influential and talkedabout book on society in the last decade now updated with a new chapter on the controversy the book has ignited why do we mistrust people more in the uk than in japan. In defence of equality in response to recent criticism, the authors of the spirit level defends its claim that there is always a link between social problems and inequality by richard wilkinson august 10, 2010 leave a comment.
We strongly recommend that you use them in conjunction with the book which explains the relationships shown in the graphs. Equality, the good society and the spirit level written by peter saunders and published by policy exchange. I have heard a bunch of criticism of the spirit level book based on its sample and cheery picking note. The spirit level by kate pickett, richard wilkinson. Richard wilkinson, emeritus professor of epidemiology, nottingham university, spoke at simon fraser university in vancouver, canada about his book,the spirit level. Ive decided to ignore that, and to read the book on the merits it gave in the text. Its equally possible that some of the books claims will survive more or less intact. The fantasyland of the spirit level and the limitations of. Why greater equality makes societies stronger by richard wilkinson, kate picket because it dealt with inequality and how it explains most of our societal problems which sounded very interesting. The spirit level why equality is better for everyone richard wilkinson swf. Why equality is better for everyone is the most influential and talkedabout book on society in the last decade now updated with a new chapter.
Why more equal societies almost always do better was published in 2009. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Wilkinson and kate pickett, published in 2009 by allen lane. This book, the spirit level, wasnt written for them. The book is published in the us by bloomsbury press december, 2009 with the new subtitle. Please note there is now an updated edition available published 4 nov 2010 the spirit level. This book lays the foundations for most of the ills in our society,and why equality matters. Why more equal societies almost always do better is a book by richard g.
Yet a year later we are entering a general election in which the main parties will ignore. I concur with that analysis, which is why we need the socioeconomic duty. The spirit level richard wilkinson and kate pickett my. Hang on dave, the argument of the spirit level is not that gross poverty is undesirable. Jul 27, 2012 greater equality and improving the wellbeing of the whole population is the key to national standards of achievement and how countries perform in a lot of different fields such as the ones described in this book.
Wilkinson and pickett base the book on what the authors cite as numerous and consistent studies of a great variety of. Jul 08, 2010 the spirit level is not on the level natalie evans a new report fatally undermines the authors claims about the link between income equality and social problems. We also lead the world in each of the social misfortunes listed above. In a sense the key to the spirit level is a survey and synthesis of many, many separate pieces of research, and the application of a framework to them. The spirit level richard wilkinson and kate pickett. The importance of the spirit level, by richard wilkinson and kate pickett, lies in showing that increased levels of inequality lead to an. Why more equal societies almost always do betterby richard.
The countries here which come in for most criticism are the united states and the uk yet both have to closely control the results of the desire of people around the world to move there. In his closing essay for the april 2, 2010 journal, bill moyers references several works on inequality in america. How ideas wreckers turned book into political punchbag 14. The spirit level is not on the level natalie evans a new report fatally undermines the authors claims about the link between income equality and social problems. The charts that make up the visual core of the spirit level, the scattergrams that show how incidences of social problems increase as inequality increases, gain incredible power as they multiply throughout the book. The authors respond to questions about the spirit levels.
We are in the midst of a historic moment in which many forces have come together and suddenly raised the prominence of debates about poverty and inequality. If for instance a country does badly on health, you can predict with some confidence that it will also imprison a larger proportion of its population, have more teenage pregnancies, lower literacy scores, more obesity, worse mental health, and so on. The spirit level is an important book, for it undermines one of the most important myths of modern social policy that inequality is good for us. The evidence presented in the book is mostly a series of scatter diagrams, with a regression line drawn through them. Richard wilkinson and kate pickett, the spirit level. The spirit level why more equal societies almost always do better richard wilkinson and kate pickett this book is relevant to both the module on crime and deviance and theory methods based on thirty years of research its findings are that almost every modern social and environmental problem is moire likely to.
You can predict a countrys performance on one outcome from a knowledge of others. Nevertheless, the spirit level has also attracted criticism and has been the subject of strident political attacks. Its quite possible that the entire spirit level thesis will eventually disintegrate under the weight of such criticism, and be forgotten. Writing in the august 2010 edition of prospect, matthew sinclair from the. The spirit level is an engaging and easy to read nonfiction book that explores the correlation between inequality and multiple social ills plaguing todays modern societies. Aug 14, 2016 the spirit level why more equal societies almost always do better richard wilkinson and kate pickett this book is relevant to both the module on crime and deviance and theory methods based on thirty years of research its findings are that almost every modern social and environmental problem is moire likely to. Recently, wilkinson and picketts book the spirit level has been subject to strong criticism from researchers on the right of the political spectrum see for example saunders 2010, snowdon 2010 and taxpayers alliance 2010. Both prime minister david cameron and labour leader ed miliband appear to be disciples of the spirit level, a book that claims to prove that britains. It is brave to write a book arguing that economies should stop. Why greater equality makes societies stronger paperback april 26, 2011. Despite sounding like a bgrade supernatural fantasy thriller, the spirit level is a nonfiction work that aggregates scientific evidence on societal equality.
More equal societies do better, especially on outcomes that show hierarchical effects. Although inequality may well be problematic for these conventional reasons, the spirit level tells us that its mainly bad because it makes status differences more extreme and salient and thus generates insecurity about our worth and where we stand in the social hierarchy. That three sustained attacks from those opposed to greater equality can be dealt with in. Her work, with richard wilkinson, on the spirit level was shortlisted for research project of the year 2009 by the times higher education supplement, and their book was chosen as one of the top ten books of the decade, by the new statesman. Sunday times uk it is well established that in rich societies the poor have shorter lives and suffer more from almost every.
Why equality is better for everyone is the most influential and talkedabout book on society in the last decade now updated with a new chapter on the controversy the book has ignited. The spirit level by kate pickett, richard wilkinson waterstones. Greater equality and improving the wellbeing of the whole population is the key to national standards of achievement and how countries perform in a lot of different fields such as the ones described in. We are in the midst of a historic moment in which many forces have come. To be sure, that im even asking whether the spirit level fills the bill as the standard bearer in a new war on inequality is testimony enough to the importance of this book. Some of this information takes the form of extended footnotes, which can be accessed at the righthand side of this page. Why equality is better for everyone new edition by pickett, kate, wilkinson, richard isbn. Written by kate pickett and richard wilkinson, the book highlights the pernicious effects that inequality has on societies. May 06, 2016 the spirit level richard wilkinson and kate pickett this ones for you if youd like to read more about the possible correlation between social problems and income inequality.