In The Spirit Level Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett put inequality at the centre of public debate by showing conclusively that less equal societies fare worse than more equal ones across everything from education to life expectancy. The Inner Level explains how inequality affects us individually, how it alters how we think, feel and behave. It sets out the overwhelming evidence that material inequities have powerful psychological effects: when the gap between rich and poor increases, so does the tendency to define 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 hormones, and how rates of anxiety and depression are intimately related to the inequality which makes that status paramount.
You can read an interview with Richard and Kate in The Observer, which provides more detail about their findings, find out more about how the book came to be in their guest blog and listen to their appearance on The Today Programme [registration required, 2h50mins into broadcast, available until 4th July 2018] and on The Guardian’s podcast.
We will be providing resources, materials and running further events related to The Inner Level during 2018. Please sign up to our newsletter if you would like more information.
