The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
A very thought provoking book. If I trap you in conversation at a party I will likely reference this book. Or more accurately, if I talk to you at the playground I will probably trail off mid-way through referencing this book to diffuse a life or death toddler emergency.By comparing statistics from different countries, this book shows how pretty much every social ill is correlated with inequality, then also goes to show that the same social ills are not correlated with the average income level of a society and a few other metrics that could possibly correlate with inequality. The authors are careful to point out that they cannot prove that the social ills are caused by inequality, but give some motivators for why they think that causation is likely. The authors also show that it doesn't matter how a society achieves equality; only that it does so. Another neat thing that they show is that the high income part of an unequal society suffers along with the low income part.A while back I briefly spoke with John Telford about the concept of symbolic violence. At the time I wrote it off as a shibboleth that sociologists use to pad word counts (sorry John), but this book touches on the concept and the idea has now crept into daily usage for me. My rough definition goes like this. People can feel violated by ideas just as much as by physical violence. Social hierarchies are a very powerful idea. People express their position in the social hierarchy in a number of different ways; often by how they look and act. The following examples of how symbolic violence and related ideas can lead to social ills are taken from the book:1 - The symbolic violence felt by low income people can be so strong that they turn to physical violence in order to gain some sense of power in their lives. 2 - People spend money to improve their social appearance at the expense of spending money on things that will actually improve their wellbeing.Given that I am the driving wedge of gentrification in Strathcona, you can see how I think of these sorts of things on a daily basis.Another way that this book has crept into my daily consciousness is while reading news articles. Whereas before I would attribute certain problems to income level, and accept those sorts of arguments readily, now I always have inequality in the back of my mind.This book pairs well with The Darwin Economy, and I expect that it would be complimented by Capital in the Twenty-First Century.My one complaint about this book is shared by a lot of non-fiction books. Too many case studies or supporting information. In the case of the The Spirit Level, it's easy to forgive since the authors are academics and they probably beat that dead horse for professional reasons.I would probably give this book 4.5/5 stars given the opportunity. Humanity still has hope, I thought when reading this book. "After several decades in which we have lived with the oppressive sense that there is no alternative to the social and environmental failure of modern societies, we can now regain the sense of optimism which comes from knowing that the problems can be solved." "As well as the potential for conflict, human beings have a unique potential to be each other's best source of co-operation, learning, love and assistance of every kind."Fairness has always been important value for me. "Visible even in young children, our concern for fairness sometimes seem so strong that we might wonder how it is that social systems with great inequality are tolerated."Why not to try have a more equal society? What harm could come trying to achieve reasonable and understandable income differences? "Although attitudes to inequality have always been central to the disagreement between the political right and left, few would not prefer a friendlier society, with less violence, better mental health, more involvement in community life - and so on."
What do You think about The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better (2009)?
A lot of unsubstantiated claims, as a center left, this book is full of liberal bull-shit.
—abby
Totaly enjoyed this book,it was such a big help when i was doing my degree
—scpeanutsgs
