u003cpu003eWhy is the incidence of mental illness in the UK twice that in Germany? Why are Americans three times more likely than the Dutch to develop gambling problems? Why is child well-being so much worse in New Zealand than Japan? As this groundbreaking study demonstrates, the answer to all these hinges on inequality.u003c/pu003e u003cpu003eIn u003ciu003eThe Spirit Levelu003c/iu003e Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett put inequality at the centre of public debateu003cbru003e by showing conclusively that less-equal societies fare worse than more equal ones across everythingu003cbru003e from education to life expectancy. u003ciu003eThe Inner Levelu003c/iu003e now explains how inequality affects us individually,u003cbru003e how it alters how we think, feel and behave. It sets out the overwhelming evidence that materialu003cbru003e inequalities have powerful psychological effects: when the gap between rich and poor increases, so does the tendency to defi ne and value ourselves and others in terms of superiority and inferiority. A deep well of data and analysis is drawn upon to empirically show, for example, that low social status is associated with elevated levels of stress, and how rates of anxiety and depression are intimately related to the inequality which makes that status paramount.u003c/pu003e u003cpu003eWilkinson and Pickett describe how these responses to hierarchies evolved, and why the impacts ofu003cbru003e inequality on us are so severe. In doing so, they challenge the conception that humans are innatelyu003cbru003e competitive and self-interested. They undermine, too, the idea that inequality is the product of 'natural' differences in individual ability. This book sheds new light on many of the most urgent problems facing societies today, but it is not just an index of our ills. It demonstrates that societies based on fundamental equalities, sharing and reciprocity generate much higher levels of well-being, and lays out the path towards them.u003c/pu003e
