“The rich developed societies have reached a turning point in human history. Politics should now be about the quality of social relations and how we can develop harmonious and sustainable societies.” The Equality Trust, based on the work of Professors Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, reached this summary after analyzing data showing that societies with greater inequality between rich and poor are far more unhealthy than societies with a more equal income distribution. More Unequal = More Problems The study shows that: More unequal societies have more problems with general health, mental illness, infant mortality, drug use, obesity, imprisonment rates, teenage pregnancies and homicides. More equal societies have better education and general health, more innovation, higher social mobility and more trust. The Spirit Level – slides from The Equality Trust View more presentations from The Equality Trust The slides and their titles (some listed below) show in more detail how societies with bigger gaps between rich and poor are generally more unhealthy societies than more equal societies: Health and social problems are worse in more unequal countries Health and social problems are not related to income in rich countries Health and social problems are worse in unequal US states Health and social problems are only weakly related to average income in US states Child well-being is better in more equal rich countries Child well-being is unrelated to average incomes in rich countries Levels of trust are higher in more equal rich countries Levels of trust are higher in more equal US states The prevalence of mental illness is higher in more unequal rich countries Drug use is more common in more unequal countries Life expectancy...
