FYI > ---------- > From: Keith Rankin[SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > > Did you see the Tuesday documentary on TV1 last night? It was called "The > Great Leveller" and is based on the book _Unhealthy Societies_ by British > economic historian Richard Wilkinson. > > Wilkinson has shown through painstaking research that the predominant > determinant of a nation's life expectance is economic inequality. People > who > are RELATIVELY disadvantaged within their societies have a much increased > chance of dying prematurely of especially heart disease; ie relative > poverty > is actually more of a problem than is absolute poverty. After relative > affluence, the second way to live a long life is through socialisation, > including shared adversity. Thus people who lived through World War 2 had > much higher life expectancies than their parents. [I have been convinced > for > a long time that people born after 1955 will live shorter lives on average > than their parents, and inequality will be the main cause.] > > Re heart disease, inequality accounted for 60% of deaths, whereas factors > relating to diet, smoking and exercise together only accounted for 40% of > deaths. > > The campaign against poverty and inequality is actually much more > important > than most of us realise. The solution is not to place most of us into > subservient jobs. > > The reasoning is that stress levels are very high in people at the bottom > of > their pecking orders at work and elsewhere. The reasoning suggests that > people facing poverty traps - ie unable to use their own initiative to > improve their situation - are more susceptable to premature death than are > people who are simply poor and live in communities in which poverty is > normal. > > Interestingly, my own research into the Great Depression in NZ and > Australia > bears out similar points. In Adelaide in the GD, negative social > indicators > were highest at the onset of depression and during the recovery. These > were > the years when the victims stood out from their peers as victims. Crime & > suicide rates in NZ tell a similar story. > > Books : Social Sciences <Picture><Picture><Picture><Picture>Unhealthy > Societies: The Afflictions of Inequality <Picture>Author:Richard G. > Wilkinson (University of Sussex) > <Picture>Availability: Usually shipped within 10 working days > <Picture>NZ$76.46 > <Picture>NZ$64.99 > <Picture><Picture><Picture>Paperback - 272 pages > 12/09/96 > ISBN:0415092353 <Picture>Notes: * Taylor & Francis Books Ltd * Size > (216 x 138) mm * Illustrations <Picture><Picture>Description > Among the developed countries it is not the richest societies which have > the best health, but those which have the smallest income differences > between rich and poor. Inequality and relative poverty have absolute > effects: they increase death rates. But why? How can smaller income > differences raise average life expectancy? Using examples from the USA, > Britain, Japan and Eastern Europe, and bringing together evidence from the > social and medical sciences, this text offers an explanation. Healthy, > egalitarian societies are more socially cohesive. They have a stronger > community life and suffer fewer of the corrosive effects of inequality. As > well as inequality weakening the social fabric, damaging health and > increasing crime rates, the text aims to show that social cohesion is > crucial to the quality of life. The contrast between the material success > and social failure of modern societies marks an imbalance which needs > attention. The relationship between health and equality suggests that > important social needs will go unmet without a larger measure of social > and distributive justice. > > from Amazon.com > Unhealthy Societies : The Afflictions of Inequality > by Richard Wilkinson > > <Picture><Picture>Shopping with us is 100% safe. Guaranteed. > (We'll set one up for you) > View my Wish List > List Price: $27.99 > Our Price: $25.19 > You Save: $2.80 (10%) > > > Availability: On Order; usually ships within 1-2 weeks. > <Picture: Holly>Holiday Note: This item may not arrive by December 24. > Visit Gift Ideas to find items we can ship today. > > > Paperback (February 1997) > Routledge; ISBN: 0415092353 > Amazon.com Sales Rank: 48,828 > Avg. Customer Review: <Picture: 5 out of 5 stars> > Number of Reviews: 2 > > >
