The Spirit Level

The authors acknowledge that most of the social and health issues they are concerned about are more prevalent amongst the poorest people in a country’s population. How do they try to separate the problem of poverty from a country’s scale of inequality? Explain.

Identify the list of the social problems which Wilkinson and Pickett claim are signs of social failure and analyze how they assigned countries a “score” based on these issues.

According to the authors, how does inequality breed social distrust?

Select a social issue examined in the book and synthesize Pickett and Wilkinson’s argument about it. Include their claims and the evidence they used to support them.

According to the authors, how does inequality encourage violent crime? What studies and examples do they cite as evidence? Explain in detail.

The authors maintain that reducing inequality would improve the lives of everyone across society, not just the poorest people. How do they support this aspect of their argument? Explain with references to the text.

Investigate a social or health issue that affects people in developed countries and compile your findings in a presentation or paragraph. What relationship, if any, does a person’s income have with this problem? Include your reliable sources in your work.

Did the authors persuade you that reducing inequality is the solution to social and health problems in developed countries? Why or why not? Explain your opinion in detail. Reference the text and feel free to incorporate outside sources.