Reflections From A Chair

The Globe and Mail reviewed “The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better,” by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, Allen Lane.

The reviewers write that:
“This is the authors’ “big idea”: People’s health depends on the quality of their social relationships, and the most important determinant of the quality of social relationships is the level of inequality.”

The book argues that as inequality increases so, too, does infant mortality, illiteracy, obesity, mental illness, incarceration, homicide, drug use and teenage pregnancy. Life expectancy decreases where inequality rises.

It’s well worth the time to read the article.