The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better was a groundbreaking book in 2009 which "shows that for each of eleven different health and social problems: physical health, mental health, drug abuse, education, imprisonment, obesity, social mobility, trust and community life, violence, teenage pregnancies, and child well-being, outcomes are significantly worse in more unequal rich countries."
The Spirit Level at 15: The Enduring Impact of Inequality expanded on the initial research to show that inequality is central to the climate crisis (which includes plastic pollution), that it erodes social cohesion, that it prejudices the chances of young people, and that it is a determinant of population health and well-being.
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The UK has among the highest levels of economic inequality in the world. 18% of the people in the UK population are in poverty. That includes 4.5 million children who are being raised in poverty.
The reason that poverty has increased so substantially in the UK is gross economic inequality. It is not, as the government and corporate mainstream media convey, immigration and welfare payments. That narrative is misleading and divisive which is convenient for the corporations as it hinders the adoption of legislation to address gross inequality.
Levels of inequality continue to spiral out of control in the wake of Covid-19. Oxfam state in their Inequality Kills report that, "The world’s richest 10 men have seen their fortunes double, while the incomes of 99% of humanity are worse off" and that, "A new billionaire has been created every 26 hours since the pandemic began".
Danny Dorling
Oxford University Professor of Human Geography.
Oxfam's report goes on to say that, "20 of the richest billionaires are estimated, on average, to be emitting as much as 8000 times more carbon than the billion poorest people" So to deal with social and environmental crises, including plastic pollution, we must further equality. Fundamental systemic change is required to deal with the corrupt economic and political systems that have enabled such gross inequality.