The
Spirit Level
Over the
years I have listened to Politicians quote from this book and thought to
myself, very clever but that is not your quote we have read the same book.
Going past
the current debate on leaving the EU though one does have to consider which
party and why this is and has been pushed so strongly we need to think about
some the issues raised by The Spirit Level.
It is a fact
that the UK is up there as one of the most prosperous countries, but it is also
up there along with the USA as one of the most unequal countries. It is a fact that since the referendum we
have consistently dropped in the rankings of the most prospers countries we
were number 5, not sure where we are now down to about 9 I think.
The spirit
Level analyses countries and, in the USA, separate states to ascertain
equality, and shows that the more equal a society is the better of everyone
is. Better of not just financially, but
better of health wise, better of because the prisons are less full, better off
because crime drops, in fact they live a safer healthy life all together.
Now we
constantly here the phrase from the right wing that there will be a ‘drip down
benefit’ when people are making more money, when right wing policies are
followed, this for all to see is patently not working. When that does not happen what happens is we
scape goat, and one can see that being enacted out in policies, such as the
‘hostile environment policy’ which is supposed to be no more but its affect I
am still witnessing, much as we are still witnessing the horrific effect of the
wind rush problems.
I also am
seeing, even from relatives that terrible comment that if you are poor then
obviously you are lazy. Such terrible sound bite infantile answer to real
politicly motivated structural societal problems.
So where am
I going with this, well seems to me that we have moved for all sort of reasons
to a more right-wing political establishment, and it seems the pressure is on
to move that even further. That kind of
politics will not bring better equality, and surely if we are all better of in
a more equal society isn’t that better for all of us? So maybe we need to push hard towards the
left, that might bring us back a little towards the centre. Hopefully bring us
towards a more equal society.
The Spirit Level
The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost
Always Do Better was published in
2009. Written by Kate Pickett and Richard Wilkinson, the book highlights
the "pernicious effects that inequality has on societies: eroding trust,
increasing anxiety and illness, (and) encouraging excessive consumption".
It shows that for each of eleven different health and social problems: physical
health, mental health, drug abuse, education, imprisonment, obesity, social
mobility, trust and community life, violence, teenage pregnancies, and child
well-being, outcomes are significantly worse in more unequal rich countries.
As of September 2012, the book had sold more than
150,000 copies in English. It is available in 23 foreign editions.
535 Words
Adrianhawes.blogspot.co.uk
