The Spirit Level

The spirit level is an interesting book which was presented by the professor in the most interesting way possible by gaining our curiosity and attention. I myself has never considered all the things in complex how the incomes per person affect all the social phenomena in our society. The book main idea is that as the gap between rich and poor widens, problems affecting the whole of society worsen.

The book indicates evidences illustrated by the charts that show that the less equal societies are suffering by higher rates of crime, infant mortality, obesity and lower life expectancy. On this point Wilkinson and Pickett argue that, because of this, it would be in everyone's interest to strive to create a society in which wealth was distributed more evenly, thus  to balance the spirit level of people within a country.  The economy of market gives just the same results; it deepens the gap between rich and poor people. It gives the opportunity to develop economies but at the same time it provides the society with inequality. The spirit level is a very essential element in the country development and the life of their people. When the spirit level is high the equality between people is higher and what inspires and makes people creative is freedom, equality and the belief in human capabilities.  

Wilkinson and Pickett think that by increasing top tax rates or legislating to limit maximum pay are possibilities they suggest. They warn that short-term remedies like this could be reversed by a change of government, and that we need to find ways of rooting greater equality more deeply in our society. Societies where incomes are relatively equal have low levels of stress and high levels of trust, so that people feel secure and see others as co-operative. In unequal societies, by contrast, the rich suffer from fear of the poor, while those lower down the social order experience status anxiety, looking upon those who are more successful with bitterness and upon themselves with shame.