Groundbreaking analysis showing that greater economic equality-not greater wealth-is the mark of the most successful societies, and offering new ways to achieve it.

This groundbreaking book, based on thirty years' research, demonstrates that more unequal societies are bad for almost everyone within them—the well-off and the poor. The remarkable data the book lays out and the measures it uses are like a spirit level which we can hold up to compare different societies. The differences revealed, even between rich market democracies, are striking. Almost every modern social and environmental problem—ill health, lack of community life, violence, drugs, obesity, mental illness, long working hours, big prison populations—is more likely to occur in a less equal society. The book goes to the heart of the apparent contrast between material success and social failure in many modern national societies.

The Spirit Level does not simply provide a diagnosis of our ills, but provides invaluable instruction in shifting the balance from self-interested consumerism to a friendlier, more collaborative society. It shows a way out of the social and environmental problems which beset us, and opens up a major new approach to improving the real quality of life, not just for the poor but for everyone. It is, in its conclusion, an optimistic book, which should revitalize politics and provide a new way of thinking about how we organize human communities.

Media for The Spirit Level:

Interesting Q&A in the Boston Globe Ideas section with Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett.

Interview with Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett on HERE ON EARTH (Wisconsin Public Radio).

Arts and Letters Daily has linked to the Boston Globe piece.

There's this piece on Huff Po about going out to eat here and in Sweden:op

and don't miss the post on Daily Kos.

Take a look at Kate's video with Big Think.

Alter Net essay.

"Wilkinson and Pickett make an eloquent case that the income gap between a nation's richest and poorest is the most powerful indicator of a functioning and healthy society...Felicitous prose and fascinating findings make this essential reading."—Publishers Weekly

"In this fascinating sociological study, the authors do an excellent job
of presenting the research, analyzing nuances, and offering policy suggestions for creating more equal and sustainable societies. For all readers, specialized or not, with an interest in understanding the
dynamics today between economic and social conditions."—Library Journal

"It has taken two experts from the field of public health to deliver a major study of the effects of inequality on society. Though Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett are British, their research explores the United States in depth, and their work is an important contribution to the debate our country needs."—Robert B. Reich, from the foreword

"Might be the most important book of the year."—Guardian

"Fascinating and deeply provoking...The Spirit Level does contain a powerful political message. It is impossible to read it and not to be impressed by how often greater equality appears to be the answer,
whatever happens to be the question. It provides a connection between what otherwise look like disparate social problems."—David Runciman, London Review of Books