The Spirit Level - Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett - Part 5

The Spirit Level - Richard Wilkinson
and Kate Pickett

2017 Reading Challenge - Day 55

 February 24, 2017 

Book 16 - The Spirit Level:
Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger
by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett (2010)
 Part 5 - 215-265
Reading Time - 45 minutes

Finally... we come to some of the crux points. As you might guess, inequality heightens competitive consumption. Basically, social and environmental sustainability go hand-in-hand. Societies with raging income inequality tend to suck up more than their fare share of the earth's resources. Could we maybe improve our lives by lowering our levels of consumption? In terms of human well-being and sustainability... only 1 country has a good balance... Cuba (go figure).

We are addicted to shopping and our lifestyle is unsustainable. We have this idea that we need to buy first class goods or else people will see us as second class people. So we spend and spend and spend without saving for the future. We only have to look at the news to hear that savings rates are down and consumer debt is way up. Our spending lifestyle is unsustainable, not only for the earth, but for ourselves as well.

What if we shifted away from economic growth to a more sociable society. Studies show we might actually be higher, given that increasing economic growth has actually flat-lined in terms of increasing our happiness.

The authors suggest that a bunch of small changes are going to make the difference,. We could use taxes and benefits to redistribute income. We could narrow the differences in gross income. It will require cooperation and collaboration on a grand scale - between NGOs, community development corporations, credit unions, corporations and governments. One concrete option they suggest is democratic employee ownership - where the employees own the company. It might seem like a small thing, but it is a step in the right direction.

On a happier note, the authors note that humanity has been on a historic trend toward greater equality... we might be having a down-dip right now, but ultimately, we are improving. We just need to know where we want to go... even if it takes decades.

All in all, a good book, if a bit heavy on the graphs and charts! Ties in well with the next book...

Next Book

The Necessary Revolution

Peter Senge et al