The Sprit Level

Richard Wilkinson, Kate Pickett (2009)

Excellent, engaging, well researched and well argued, this book is crying out to be read and shared with more widely. Its basic thesis is that societies with greater economic equality tend to fare better in a number of different areas: mental health, trust, life expectancy, crime social wellbeing, obesity, teenage pregnancy. Countries with high inequality such as the US or Portugal tend to fare worse, and those with low inequality such as Japan and Norway tend to fare better. The authors suggest that low inequality is a social positive, and have formed a charity, the eqaulity trust to promote their message. Will their views be heeded?