[acb-hsp] Equality, a True Soul Food

[peter altschul]

Equality, a True Soul Food

By NICHOLAS D.  KRISTOF Published: January 1, 2011

John Steinbeck observed that "a sad soul can kill you quicker, 
far quicker, than a germ." That insight, now confirmed by 
epidemiological studies, is worth bearing in mind at a time of 
such polarizing inequality that the wealthiest 1 percent of 
Americans possess a greater collective net worth than the bottom 
90 percent.

There's growing evidence that the toll of our stunning inequality 
is not just economic but also is a melancholy of the soul.  The 
upshot appears to be high rates of violent crime, high narcotics 
use, high teenage birthrates and even high rates of heart 
disease.

That's the argument of an important book by two distinguished 
British epidemiologists, Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett.  
They argue that gross inequality tears at the human psyche, 
creating anxiety, distrust and an array of mental and physical 
ailments - and they cite mountains of data to support their 
argument.

"If you fail to avoid high inequality, you will need more prisons 
and more police," they assert.  "You will have to deal with 
higher rates of mental illness, drug abuse and every other kind 
of problem." They explore these issues in their book, "The Spirit 
Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger."

The heart of their argument is that humans are social animals and 
that in highly unequal societies those at the bottom suffer from 
a range of pathologies.  For example, a long-term study of 
British civil servants found that messengers, doormen and others 
with low status were much more likely to die of heart disease, 
suicide and some cancers and had substantially worse overall 
health.

There's similar evidence from other primates.  For example, 
macaque monkeys are also highly social animals, and scientists 
put them in cages and taught them how to push a lever so that 
they could get cocaine.  Those at the bottom of the monkey 
hierarchy took much more cocaine than high-status monkeys.

Other experiments found that low-status monkeys suffered physical 
problems, including atherosclerosis in their arteries and an 
increase in abdominal fat.  And as with monkeys, so with humans.  
Researchers have found that when people become unemployed or 
suffer economic setbacks, they gain weight.  One 12-year study of 
American men found that when their income slipped, they gained an 
average of 5.5 pounds.

The correlation is strong around the world between countries with 
greater inequality and greater drug use.  Paradoxically, 
countries with more relaxed narcotics laws, like the Netherlands, 
have relatively low domestic drug use - perhaps because they are 
more egalitarian.

Professors Wilkinson and Pickett crunch the numbers and show that 
the same relationship holds true for a range of social problems.  
Among rich countries, those that are more unequal appear to have 
more mental illness, infant mortality, obesity, high school 
dropouts, teenage births, homicides, and so on.

They find the same thing is true among the 50 American states.  
More unequal states, like Mississippi and Louisiana, do poorly by 
these social measures.  More equal states, like New Hampshire and 
Minnesota, do far better.

So why is inequality so harmful? "The Spirit Level" suggests that 
inequality undermines social trust and community life, corroding 
societies as a whole.  It also suggests that humans, as social 
beings, become stressed when they find themselves at the bottom 
of a hierarchy.

That stress leads to biological changes, such as the release of 
the hormone cortisol, and to the accumulation of abdominal fat 
(perhaps an evolutionary adaptation in preparation for starvation 
ahead?).  The result is physical ailments like heart disease, and 
social ailments like violent crime, mutual distrust, 
self-destructive behaviors and persistent poverty.  Another 
result is the establishment of alternative systems in which one 
can win respect and acquire self-esteem, such as gangs.

Granted, humans are not all equal in ability: There will always 
be some who are more wealthy - and others who constitute the 
bottom.  But inequality does not have to be as harsh, oppressive 
and polarized as it is in America today.  Germany and Japan have 
attained modern, efficient economies with far less inequality 
than we have - and far fewer social problems.  Likewise, the gap 
between rich and poor fell during the Clinton administration, 
according to data cited in "The Spirit Level," even though that 
was a period of economic vigor.

"Inequality is divisive, and even small differences seem to make 
an important difference," Professors Wilkinson and Pickett note.  
They suggest that it is not just the poor who benefit from the 
social cohesion that comes with equality, but the entire society.

So as we debate national policy in 2011 - from the estate tax to 
unemployment insurance to early childhood education - let's push 
to reduce the stunning levels of inequality in America today.  
These inequities seem profoundly unhealthy, for us and for our 
nation's soul.