The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Betteris a book by Richard G. Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, published in 2009 by Allen Lane. The book is published in the US by Bloomsbury Press (December, 2009) with the new sub-title: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger. It was then published in a paperback second edition in November 2010 with the subtitle, “Why Equality is Better for Everyone”.
The book argues that there are "pernicious effects that inequality has on societies: eroding trust, increasing anxiety and illness, (and) encouraging excessive consumption". It claims 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.[
26 min interview - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y0sBsZfzJk&feature=related
Kate Pickett showing the data on graphs -http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=NTTwzi09hU0
