Copyright Bruce Nixon 2010. All rights reserved. Th<strong>is</strong> electronic copy <strong>is</strong> provided free for personal, non-commercial use only. www.brucenixon.com In wealthy nations US, Portugal and UK the richest fifth are respectively 8.5, 8.0 and 7.2 times richer than the poorest. Japan, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark have the lowest gaps – 3.4, 3.7, 3.9, 4.0 and 4.3. Combined social problem scores are highest in US, Portugal and UK and amongst the lowest in Japan, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Netherlands and Switzerland. The Brit<strong>is</strong>h inequality index, starting at 100 in 1974, rose to 140 by 2006, more rapidly than elsewhere in Europe or the developed <strong>world</strong>. The gap, measured by th<strong>is</strong> index, fell in UK during the seventies, rose most in the Thatcher’s time from 1979 up to a peak of 136 in 1991 under Major, under New Labour , it rose to 140. Mental illness <strong>is</strong> about 3 times higher in the most unequal societies; 8 times more pr<strong>is</strong>oners; the percentage of obesity <strong>is</strong> over twice as high in unequal countries; teen pregnancies are up to 10 times higher in more polar<strong>is</strong>ed countries, USA by far the highest, then UK; death rates for working men of all classes are higher. Literacy scores are higher for everyone in more equal countries Sources: Guardian, Friday 13 th March 2009 pp20-21.and Spirit Level – why more equal societies almost always do <strong>better</strong>, Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, Allen Lane, 2009. Around the <strong>world</strong>, people have grown happier during the past 25 years, according to the most recent World Values Survey, an assessment of happiness in 97 nations. On average, people describing themselves as “very happy” have increased by nearly 7 per cent. However Americans, now twice as rich as they were in 1950, are no happier according to the survey. Other rich countries, the United Kingdom and western Germany among them, show downward happiness trends. Happiness appears to be associated with improved economies, greater democrat<strong>is</strong>ation and increased social tolerance. Material stability and freedom to live as one pleases are major factors in subjective well-being. It <strong>is</strong> not associated with high consumption or material<strong>is</strong>tic values. It <strong>is</strong> well-being that counts. According to the New Economics Foundation (NEF) Happy Planet Index, the G8 countries generally score badly in the Happy Planet Index: The UK comes 108th. Italy <strong>is</strong> 66th, Germany 81 st , Japan 95th, Canada 111th, France 129th, United States 150th and Russia 172nd. El Salvador ranks in the top 10 countries in the <strong>world</strong> in th<strong>is</strong> index. Central America <strong>is</strong> the region with the highest scores. Amongst European nations, the UK <strong>is</strong> 13 th out of 22. UK Wellbeing 87% think today <strong>is</strong> “too material<strong>is</strong>tic, with too much emphas<strong>is</strong> on money and not enough on things that really matter” UK <strong>is</strong> hugely inefficient in converting planetary resources into wellbeing 62% in UK have jobs they find too stressful or uninteresting Levels of trust have halved since the 50s Mental illness, particularly anxiety and depression, causes about 40% of incapacity claims Someone consuming at the rate of one-planet living <strong>is</strong> just as likely to have high life sat<strong>is</strong>faction as someone over-consuming at seven-planet living rate Source – Happy Planet Index, New Economics Foundation (nef) These findings demonstrate that system blindness <strong>is</strong> the problem. New Labour was unlikely to achieve their aims. Throwing billions at social problems in an unequal society does not address the root cause – see Ch 6. 74
Copyright Bruce Nixon 2010. All rights reserved. Th<strong>is</strong> electronic copy <strong>is</strong> provided free for personal, non-commercial use only. www.brucenixon.com Further reading Ha-Joon Chang, Protecting the global poor, Prospect magazine, <strong>is</strong>sue 136, July 2007. <strong>Institute</strong> for Policy Studies (IPS) USA – linking peace, justice, and the environment Shiva, V, 2005, Earth Democracy, Zed Books Wilkinson, R and Pickett, K, The Spirit Level– why more equal societies almost always do <strong>better</strong>, Allen Lane, 2009 75
Change language