The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies StrongerThe eye-opening and headline-generating UK bestseller that shows how one single factor the gap between its richest and poorest members can determine the health and well-being of a society. The remarkable data assembled in The Spirit Level reveals striking differences, not only among the nations of the first world but even within America's fifty states. Almost every modern social problem ill-health, violence, lack of community life, teen pregnancy, mental illness is more likely to occur in a less-equal society. This is why America, by most measures the richest country on earth, has per capita shorter average lifespan, more cases of mental illness, more obesity, and more of its citizens in prison than any other developed nation. Wilkinson and Pickett lay bare the contradiction between material success and social failure in today's world, but they do not simply provide a diagnosis of our woes. They offer readers a way toward a new political outlook, shifting from self-interested consumerism to a friendlier, more sustainable society. The Spirit Level is pioneering in its research, powerful in its revelations, and inspiring in its conclusion: Armed with this new understanding of why communities prosper, we have the tools to revitalize our politics and help all our fellow citizens, from the bottom of the ladder to the top. |
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The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger Richard Wilkinson,Kate Pickett Limited preview - 2011 |
The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger Richard Wilkinson,Kate Pickett Limited preview - 2010 |
The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger Richard Wilkinson,Kate Pickett No preview available - 2010 |