- Paperback: 368 pages
- Publisher: Penguin (4 Feb 2010)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0141032367
- ISBN-13: 978-0141032368
- Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.8 x 2.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (137 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 68,190 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone
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Product Description
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'what might be the most important book of the year' --John Grace, Guardian
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'This is a book with a big idea, big enough to change political thinking'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
148 of 167 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett have written a remarkable, meticulously researched book which argues convincingly that inequality is the root cause of many of society's ills. A mass of evidence is marshalled to demonstrate that levels of violent crime, mental illness, drug addiction, illiteracy, obesity etc. are almost always higher in more unequal societies and that even the affluent are adversely affected by inequality.
The UK is near the top of the income gap league with twice as much inequality as Scandinavia & Japan and consequently experiences more social problems. Chosen as a 'Top 10 Book' of the decade by New Statesman magazine, 'The Spirit Level' is an important, thought-provoking book and should be compulsory reading for ministers in the Con-Dem coalition government who profess concern about 'Broken Britain'. The recent riots in England(August 2011) make this an even more essential read.
P.S. The updated paperback edition(November,2010) includes a new chapter giving the authors' well-argued response to strident political attacks on the book from the free-market right.
The UK is near the top of the income gap league with twice as much inequality as Scandinavia & Japan and consequently experiences more social problems. Chosen as a 'Top 10 Book' of the decade by New Statesman magazine, 'The Spirit Level' is an important, thought-provoking book and should be compulsory reading for ministers in the Con-Dem coalition government who profess concern about 'Broken Britain'. The recent riots in England(August 2011) make this an even more essential read.
P.S. The updated paperback edition(November,2010) includes a new chapter giving the authors' well-argued response to strident political attacks on the book from the free-market right.
75 of 87 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
While this is not the first publication to draw peoples attention to the impact of inequality, it is by far the most comprehensive and well written. The authors present compelling evidence that more equal societies, those with a narrower gap between rich and poor, are more cohesive, healthier, suffer fewer social problems and are more environmentally sustainable. It may prove uncomfortable reading for many but the book brings to the reader the hard realities of life in unequal societies like the UK and the USA. It promts the reader to challenge the conventional thinking about whether alowing huge inequalities is sustainable and to consider what could and should be done to develop a fairer society. This is a superb book and anybody at all interested in the society that they live in should give it a thorough read.
50 of 58 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I actually think this book has a rather hopeful message. Whilst the scale of the problems caused by inequality are vast and sobering, it is made clear by the authors (who are known to me) that relatively small moves towards greater equality can yield great benefits - and it doesn't really matter how you achieve that greater equality, just as long as you do. This has profound implications for politics showing that tax and spend is not the only solution, narrowing the gap in incomes before tax can work as well. Therefore, a real chance for a broad political consensus in favour of equality exists here - a hopeful message if ever there was one.
The book also points out that all the levers necessary to move towards more equal societies already exist and can easily be grasped given political will. We don't have to aim for utopia, we don't have to have a full-blown revolution to massively increase well-being and sustainability throughout the world - and not just the developed world. The authors point out that more equal developed countries are more nurturing and collaborative, so they give far more to the developing world in terms of overseas aid and score better on the Global Peace Index and are more likely to abide by international treaties.
This book poses the big questions about what it means to be human and what we now need to do to survive. These are the big ideas that the world's current leaders are failing to seize upon. This is much more than an academic book; it is a call to action.
Bill Kerry.
The book also points out that all the levers necessary to move towards more equal societies already exist and can easily be grasped given political will. We don't have to aim for utopia, we don't have to have a full-blown revolution to massively increase well-being and sustainability throughout the world - and not just the developed world. The authors point out that more equal developed countries are more nurturing and collaborative, so they give far more to the developing world in terms of overseas aid and score better on the Global Peace Index and are more likely to abide by international treaties.
This book poses the big questions about what it means to be human and what we now need to do to survive. These are the big ideas that the world's current leaders are failing to seize upon. This is much more than an academic book; it is a call to action.
Bill Kerry.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Not so interesting
I am afraid that I found this book quite boring and never got past about one third of it, which is a shame because I am an avid reader and usually love the books I have bought.
Published 6 days ago by Julie Faber
Injustice is the root of all evil
I would disagree with the comments of another reviewer that inequality are the roots of all evil and comment that it is injustice at the root of social collapse of societies. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Transformations
What went before didn't work did it?
An excellent read and a view through the fog of conventional economic thinking which has brought us to the state we're in today (2012). Read more
Published 1 month ago by Elle et belle
The bonobos have it, the Scandinavians and the Japanese have it, now...
A more equal society. Four words that don't mean much when stood alone. This book tells the reader exactly what they mean. Read more
Published 4 months ago by W. Rodick
Casts Light on these Status Anxious Days
The authors of The Spirit Level use financial data from well established sources such as the UN and the World Bank together with health and sociological data from equally... Read more
Published 4 months ago by David Kahnemann
Scientific research "credit rating": Triple A
My opinion of the book:
This book was extremely well written, documented and argued. Although it was meant to "de-academise" scientific research and make it available to... Read more
This book was extremely well written, documented and argued. Although it was meant to "de-academise" scientific research and make it available to... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mr. S. Janakiram
Sane, humane, compelling
I've just finished the book, and the thing that struck me most forcefully was just how "right" their analysis felt - I recognised it almost as if I'd known it all along, even... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Ms. J. Jacobs
The book is an important contribution in urging politicians to see...
Although first published under a Labour government in 2009, this book is still highly relevant now we have a Conservative / Liberal Democrat coalition. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mark Pack
Reverse causality and missing variables,
Because of the problem of what econometricians call reverse causality and missing variables, the correlation studies used in the Spirit Level are not accepted as scientific... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Viewer
Good starting point
Great stuff. Facts and figures to support the obvious.
I get the feeling there is probably more to this topic than is included in this book. Read more
I get the feeling there is probably more to this topic than is included in this book. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Peter W. Burden
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