Public Libraries of Suffolk County, New York

The inner level, how more equal societies reduce stress, restore sanity and improve everyone's well-being, Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

index present

non fiction

The inner level

bibliography

Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett

how more equal societies reduce stress, restore sanity and improve everyone's well-being

"Why are people more relaxed and at ease with each other in some countries than others? Why do we worry so much about what others think of us and often feel social life is a stressful performance? Why is mental illness three times as common in the USA as in Germany? Why is the American dream more of a reality in Denmark than the USA? What makes child well-being so much worse in some countries than others? As The Inner Level demonstrates, the answer to all these is inequality. Wilkinson and Pickett describe how these responses to hierarchies evolved, and why the impacts of inequality on us are so severe. In doing so, they challenge the conception that humans are inescapably competitive and self-interested. They undermine, too, the idea that inequality is the product of "natural" differences in individual ability. This book draws together many of the most urgent problems facing societies today, but it is not just an index of our ills. It demonstrates that societies based on fundamental equalities, sharing and reciprocity generate much higher levels of well-being, and lays out the path towards them"--, Provided by publisher

This is not a "self-help" book -- Self-doubt -- Delusions of grandeur -- False remedies -- The human condition -- The misconception of meritocracy -- Class acts -- A sustainable future? -- A better world