The Inner Level: How More Equal Societies Reduce Stress, Restore Sanity And Improve Everyone's Well-Being Hardcover

Richard Wilkinson

Why is the incidence of mental illness in the UK twice that in Germany? Why are Americans three times more likely than the Dutch to develop gambling problems? Why is child well-being so much worse in New Zealand than Japan? As this groundbreaking study demonstrates, the answer to all these hinges on inequality. In The Spirit Level Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett put inequality at the centre of public debate by showing conclusively that less-equal societies fare worse than more equal ones across everything from education to life expectancy. The Inner Level now explains how inequality affects us individually, how it alters how we think, feel and behave. It sets out the overwhelming evidence that material inequalities have powerful psychological effects: when the gap between rich and poor increases, so does the tendency to defi ne and value ourselves and others in terms of superiority and inferiority. A deep well of data and analysis is drawn upon to empirically show, for example, that low social status is associated with elevated levels of stress, and how rates of anxiety and depression are intimately related to the inequality which makes that status paramount. Wilkinson and Pickett describe how these responses to hierarchies evolved, and why the impacts of inequality on us are so severe. In doing so, they challenge the conception that humans are innately competitive and self-interested. They undermine, too, the idea that inequality is the product of 'natural' differences in individual ability. This book sheds new light on many of the most urgent problems facing societies today, but it is not just an index of our ills. It demonstrates that societies based on fundamental equalities, sharing and reciprocity generate much higher levels of well-being, and lays out the path towards them.

9781846147418

English

Penguin Books Ltd

6/7/2018

352

Richard Wilkinson is Professor Emeritus of Social Epidemiology at the University of Nottingham and Honorary Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London. Kate Pickett is Professor of Epidemiology and University Research Champion for Justice and Equality at the University of York. Together, Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett founded the Equality Trust, which seeks to promote public understanding of the effects of inequality.

This is a terrific coffee table book. It's a work of art in itself. Mark Ovenden has created a book that will transport the lucky recipient on an eccentric and world tour they will not forget * Bookseller * [Praise for Great Railway Maps of the World]: Just the ticket ... it is a glorious celebration of the pioneering history - and romance - of the railways * Sunday Times Travel Books of the Year 2011 * This beautifully illustrated history is a worthy tribute [to 150 years of design]. * Shortlist * A wonderful, handsome book ... it makes me want to nerd out, get a travel card and whiz out to the strange ends of Metroland or the UFO shape of Southgate station. -- Robert Bownes/Andrew Tuck * Monocle Weekly * Mark Ovenden has devotedly documented the designs associated with [the Underground] ... "addictive" for anyone interested in the look of everyday life. * Telegraph * I wouldn't ordinarily enthuse about one book at such length, but this is an important work...not because it's an entertaining read (it is), but because it identifies the birth of a brand...and records the birth of a new idea - the transport interchange. -- Kevin McCloud * Grand Designs Magazine *