Why Equality is Better

Richard, Wilkinson & Kate Pickett, The Spirit Level. Why Equality is Better for Everyone, (2010)

In my opinion, the suggestion there should be less inequality is not particularly controversial. However, suggesting that there should be equality is met with more opposition. Equality in the context of The Spirit Level is more than just simply income based or universal. Instead the conclusions are often focused on the detriments to society caused by inequality and how narrowing such divides could bring substantial benefits to everyone. Frustratingly, this work was significantly similar to Danny Dorling’s Inequality and the 1% which while being a later work (2014) I read in the first week of 2020. Many of the conclusions and correlations were similar. That does not diminish the significance of this book, being released just 2 years after the 2008 financial crisis. It will be interesting to see if a similar trend is seen after the current crisis.

Focused largely on the Anglo-American situation, The Spirit Level highlights a large array of data and research into correlation between inequality and social determinants of health. The deeper dive into a state by state comparison for the American case also raises interesting comparisons that build on the international comparisons. What becomes clear is that there are obvious connections between poorer communities and residents quality of life. A level of correlation between homicides and income equality within American states is one striking example, however, some of the graphs used to present such data actually highlight significant outliers as well as much weaker correlation in certain cases. These outliers are unsurprising, New York often standing out the most with the US standing out in international comparison.

A significant conclusion of early sections of the book is that correlation that holds between wealthier and poorer countries in measures such as life expectancy does not hold when wealthier countries are compared separately. The Spirit Level in essence highlights that inequality between nations has self-evident consequences, poorer countries having lower life expectancies for example. However, it is levels of inequality in the wealthy countries that influence significant differences.

The Spirit Level highlights how more data influenced the conclusions drawn, it addresses critiques and it also acknowledges its shortcomings. Many of the points made in the report on Inequality and the 1% are relevant here. This book became more interesting when it came to addressing critiques and responses. While the influence of reducing inequality is emphasized, the authors acknowledge that this is unlikely and merely focus on what the possible benefits maybe. The importance of this is simply acknowledging that under the current predominant economic structures true equality is neither going to be reached or targeted.

From both Inequality and the 1% and The Spirit Level the conclusion that equality is better is not challenging to arrive at. However, this narrative is sometimes blame oriented and it is historical processes that have opened up the gateway to rampant inequality. Targeting less inequality will be the first step and this includes addressing deep racial inequities in society. It is interesting to considering the correlation between inequality and certain quality of life measures but in addressing inequality the process needs to be gradual. Current socio-economic structures are not conducive to equality and elements of this concept emerge in this book. A rapid fix to inequality in any form is impossible but what the data and this book suggest is that attempting to address it could lead to substantial societal benefits. There are systemic areas of inequality that need to be addressed before more evident spheres of inequality can be targeted effectively. Attempting to lessen inequality before the socio-economic structures that ingrain these inequities would be futile and lead to ineffective change.