THE SPIRIT LEVEL
Why more equal societies almost always do better
By Richard Wilkinson & Kate Pickett. Penguin. 331 pages. £20.00
ISBN 978-1-846-14039-6
This is not a ‘Christian’ book. I nevertheless found it utterly fascinating. The authors are both British academics. Their argument, as I understand it, is simply this: in places where the difference in income between those receiving the most and those getting the least is small almost everyone is better off. In places where the difference is great almost everyone suffers.
The authors present a substantial body of evidence to show that countries with greater income inequality also have higher rates of mental illness, drug abuse, imprisonment, obesity, teenage pregnancy, violence and other social problems. In countries where incomes are more equal these problems are substantially reduced. A similar pattern emerges when comparing American states.
