Abstract: I ended my review of The Spirit Level i (henceforth SL), in Concept Vol. 1, No. 1, with the words Bring it on!, meaning the debate with the political right about the validity or otherwise of the evidence presented in the book. In the mean time they have indeed brought it on, notably in a booklet by Peter Saunders called 'Beware False Prophets: Equality, the Good Society and The Spirit Level' ii , and a book by Christopher Snowdon called The Spirit Level Delusion iii . SL and its authors, Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, have continued to have a high profile in the news media, including numerous newspaper articles, spots on radio and television and an editorial in The Guardian. A whole Analysis programme on BBC Radio 4 was devoted to the SL theory (Analysis, 11 October 2010). The book itself and The Equality Trust (see http://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/), a campaigning organisation that was set up in the wake of it, have undoubtedly had a significant effect on the debate about the draconian cuts in public spending being implemented by the UK government at the time of writing. A campaign on equality is timely in the UK. However, the question of which suits human beings better, equality or a highly differentiated system of material reward, is of more or less timeless relevance. Wilkinson and Pickett present the case for equality, on the basis of comparative evidence on the well-being of the citizens of the various richer capitalist countries of the world, some of which are less unequal than others.
Publication Year: 2011
Publication Date: 2011-06-20
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
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Cited By Count: 2
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