Richard Wilkinson – författare

Det har alltid funnits de som intuitivt förstått att ojäm­likhet är socialt nedbrytan­de. Men det är först på senare år som man kunnat ta reda på exakt hur. Den bild som då fram­träder är både chockerande och överraskande. Chockerande efter­som skadeverkningar­na visar sig vara långt större än vad man hade trott. Överraskande eftersom ojämlikheten visar sig drabba inte bara de fattiga. Även de rika får betala ett högt pris i form av sämre hälsa och kortare liv. Jämlikhetsanden presenterar en ­omfattande forskning och ­statistik från 23 rika länder - däribland Sverige - som visar hur graden av ojämlikhet i ett samhälle påverkar oss. Trots den förfärande verklighet som synliggörs har boken ett hoppfullt budskap. De nya kunskaper som ges om hur våra ­moderna samhällen fungerar är kraftfulla ­verktyg för att vända den negativa ­spiral av ökande samhällsproblem, misstro och social oro som ­präglat västvärlden i ­flera decennier. OM FÖRFATTARNA Richard Wilkinson har varit tongivande inom inter­na­tio­nell forskning kring sociala faktorer med central betydelse för hälsan. Efter studier i ekonomisk historia vid London School of Economics övergick han till forskning inom epidemiologi och är professor emeritus vid University of Nottingham ­Medical School, hedersprofessor vid ­University College ­London och gästprofessor vid University of York. Kate Pickett är professor i epidemiologi vid ­University of York och forskare vid National Institute for Health Research. Hon har studerat näringsvetenskap vid Cornell, fysisk antropologi vid ­Cam­bridge och epidemiologi vid ­University of California - Berkeley. De bor i North Yorkshire, England. FRÅN MOTTAGANDET I SVERIGE "Med en arsenal av tabeller och statistik smular boken sönder den sedan några årtionden hårt propagerade idén om att det är ökad ojämlikhet som är bättre för alla." Göran Rosenberg i Dagens Nyheter "Jämlikhetsanden utgör en ren guldgruva av forskningsunderbyggda argument för en mer rättvis fördelning av samhälleliga resurser. Vem kan med hedern i behåll propagera för ökad lönespridning, när det uppenbarligen är sämre inte bara för dem längst ner, utan också för dem längst upp?" Eva-Lotta Hultén i Göteborgs-Posten "Det är näst intill omöjligt att inte hålla med författarna om att de samlade­ observationerna pekar i en tydlig riktning: jämlika samhällen är nästan alltid­ bättre än ojämlika samhällen." Joakim Molander i Svenska Dagbladet "Med akademisk nit och redbarhet presenteras studie efter studie som verifi­erar bokens tes: jämlika samhällen är nästan alltid bättre." Ann Heberlein i Sydsvenskan "En av de mest uppmuntrande och stimulerande böcker jag läst på länge." Henrik Berggren i Dagens Nyheter "Sällan sträckläser man väl en faktabok full med forskning. Men den här kan man inte lägga i från sig. De brittiska forskarna fyller kapitel­ efter kapitel med dokumentation och siffror om hur förödande bristen på jämlikhet är för oss som individer och för våra överflödssam­hällen. En verkligt visionär bok som visar att rättvisan är produktiv." Liv Beckström i Kommunalarbetaren "Ger ett av de mest övertygande och välargumenterade förslagen till social förbättring som jag läst på tio år. Jag hoppas att så många politiker som möjligt läser den. Budskapet om att det går att vända den negativa spiral som våra moderna samhällen befinner sig i är helt enkelt för hoppfullt för att de ska ha råd att missa det." Ulrika Kärnborg i Dagens Nyheter "Boken har potential att slamdunka tillbaka jämlikheten på den globala poli­­tiska dagordningen. Jämlikhetsanden är en fascinerande bok som inte bara är obligatorisk läsning för den svenska vänstern, utan för alla som vill skapa ett humanare samhälle." Dan Josefsson i Aftonbladet "Jämlikheten är den bästa och billigaste lösningen för att minska sjuk­domar och brottslighet. Dokumentationen i Jämlikhetsanden är övertygande." Tomas ­Polvall i Smålandsposten "En bok vars politiska slagkraft knappast kan undervärderas, i alla fall för en europeisk arbetarrörelse, som varit på defensiven i årtionden.­ Den kan nu räta på ryggen och göra politik av forskningsfynden." Petter Larsson i Helsingborgs Dagblad "En av de mer förskräckande och samtidigt hoppingivande böcker jag läst på länge. Under lång tid nu har färdriktningen i Sverige och de flesta samhällen gått mot ökad ojämlikhet. Jämlikhetsanden är därmed dynamit." Göran Greider i Metro "Visar med stor effektivitet att jämlika samhällen klarar sig bättre." Håkan A. Bengtsson i Dagens Arena "Ordet 'jämlikhet' skadades svårt av Berlinmurens fallande betongblock. Ordet har solkats av kommunismens misslyckande i öst. Men det är en konvalescent som nu är uppe på benen igen, och mirakelläkarna bakom tillfrisknandet är ­Richard Wilkinson och Kate Pickett." Kristian Ekenberg i Arbetarbladet "Ingen bok har påverkat den europeiska socialdemokratin lika mycket sedan Anthony Giddens utkom med Tredje vägen." Eric Sundström i Aktuellt i Politiken "En av de sällsynta böcker som kan förändra perspektivet i samhällsdebatten. Det finns mig veterligen bara två böcker som näringslivets tankesmedjor oroat sig så mycket över att de försökt bemöta dem ­organiserat. Den ena är Naomi Kleins Chockdoktrinen. Den andra är Jämlikhetsanden. Det kan mycket väl hända att Jämlikhetsanden är den farligare av de två." Aron Etzler i Flamman

An inspiring manifesto offering a radical vision for our political future.We live in an age of crisis and decline. The right presents ‘solutions’ that only worsen the situation, driving a downward cycle in which desperation leads to despair. But the left is also to blame: progressive politicians have consistently failed to recognise both the urgency of people’s need and their receptiveness to new solutions.In Act now, a team of leading researchers presents a compelling and achievable vision for a progressive future. They outline clear policies for welfare, health and social care, education, housing and more. Arguing for a rolling forwards of the state, they call for a new era of active citizenship and economic democracy, grounded in robust and resilient institutions.Only a comprehensive and integrated approach, based on clear evidence of feasibility and popularity, can provide a pathway to the secure, democratic and prosperous Britain of tomorrow. This book is the blueprint. It calls on politicians, pundits and the British people to act now.

Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett's The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone is the most influential and talked-about book on society in the last decade - now updated with a new chapter on the controversy the book has ignited.Why do we mistrust people more in the UK than in Japan? Why do Americans have higher rates of teenage pregnancy than the French? What makes the Swedish thinner than the Australians? The answer: inequality.This groundbreaking book, based on years of research, provides hard evidence to show: How almost everything - from life expectancy to mental illness, violence to illiteracy - is affected not by how wealthy a society is, but how equal it isThat societies with a bigger gap between rich and poor are bad for everyone in them - including the well-off How we can find positive solutions and move towards a happier, fairer futureUrgent, provocative and genuinely uplifting, The Spirit Level has been heralded as providing a new way of thinking about ourselves and our communities, and could change the way you see the world. 'A big idea, big enough to change political thinking' - Guardian'A remarkable new book ... the implications are profound' - Will Hutton, Observer'The evidence is hard to dispute' - EconomistRichard Wilkinson studied economic history at the London School of Economics before training in epidemiology and is Professor Emeritus at the University of Nottingham Medical School and Honorary Professor at University College London.Kate Pickett is a Professor of Epidemiology at the University of York and a National Institute for Health Research Career Scientist. Her work with Richard Wilkinson on The Spirit Level was shortlisted for Research Project of the Year 2009 by the Times Higher Education Supplement, and their book was chosen as one of the Top Ten Books of the Decade by the New Statesman.

The essential new book from the authors of the international bestseller The Spirit Level'Why are people, particularly young people, experiencing increasing levels of mental illness and distress? Highly readable and authoritative, The Inner Level shows clearly how social anxieties and the problems they lead to rise steadily in richer, more unequal societies' Clare Short, The Tablet, Books of the YearWhy is the incidence of mental illness in the UK twice that in Germany? Why are Americans three times more likely than the Dutch to develop gambling problems? Why is child well-being so much worse in New Zealand than Japan? As this groundbreaking study demonstrates, the answer to all these hinges on inequality.In The Spirit Level Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett put inequality at the centre of public debateby showing conclusively that less-equal societies fare worse than more equal ones across everythingfrom education to life expectancy. The Inner Level now explains how inequality affects us individually,how it alters how we think, feel and behave. It sets out the overwhelming evidence that materialinequalities have powerful psychological effects: when the gap between rich and poor increases, so does the tendency to defi ne and value ourselves and others in terms of superiority and inferiority. A deep well of data and analysis is drawn upon to empirically show, for example, that low social status is associated with elevated levels of stress, and how rates of anxiety and depression are intimately related to the inequality which makes that status paramount.Wilkinson and Pickett describe how these responses to hierarchies evolved, and why the impacts ofinequality on us are so severe. In doing so, they challenge the conception that humans are innatelycompetitive and self-interested. They undermine, too, the idea that inequality is the product of 'natural' differences in individual ability. This book sheds new light on 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.

Social Determinants of Health, 2nd Edition gives an authoritative overview of the social and economic factors which are known to be the most powerful determinants of population health in modern societies. Written by acknowledged experts in each field, it provides accessible summaries of the scientific justification for isolating different aspects of social and economic life as the primary determinants of a population's health.The new edition takes account of the most recent research and also includes additional chapters on ethnicity and health, sexual behaviours, the elderly, housing and neighbourhoods.Recognition of the power of socioeconomic factors as determinants of health came initially from research on health inequalities. This has led to a view of health as not simply about individual behaviour or exposure to risk, but how the socially and economically structured way of life of a population shapes its health. Thus exercise and accidents are as much about a society's transport system as about individual decisions; and the nation's diet involves agriculture, food manufacture, retailing, and personal incomes as much as individual choice. But a major new element in the picture we have developed is the importance of the social, or psycho-social, environment to health. For example, health in the workplace for most employees - certainly for office workers - is less a matter of exposure to physical health hazards as of the social environment, of how supportive it is, whether people have control over their work, whether their jobs are secure. A similar picture emerges in other areas ranging from the health importance of the emotional environment in early childhood to the need for more socially cohesive communities.Social Determinants of Health should be read by those interested in the wellbeing of modern societies. It is a must for public health professionals, for health promotion specialists, and for people working in the many fields of public policy which we now know make such an important contribution to health.

The Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages is designed to provide a clear and logical framework for the assessment of damages in personal injury cases. The first edition of this title was regarded as a landmark in personal injury practice. Each succeeding issue has built on this reputation and the book has now firmly established itself as an essential reference for all those involved in the area of personal injury litigation.This new edition has been fully updated to take account of inflation since the last edition as well as recent decisions of the higher courts. The book includes important changes to the sections on Epilepsy and Sexual and/or Physical Abuse and a new bracket of damages for Miscarriage, together with an updated note on tariff-based awards for Whiplash injuries.This book is edited by a working party of the Judicial College, led by the Hon. Mrs Justice Lambert DBE. The members of the working party are all lawyers and personal injury specialists: Stuart McKechnie KC; Steven Snowden KC; Lisa Sullivan, Master of the King's Bench Division; and Richard Wilkinson, barrister.

There is widespread recognition that the most powerful determinants of health today are to be found in social, economic and cultural circumstances. These include: ecnomic growth, income distribution, consumption, work oganisation, unemployment and job insecurity, social and family structure, education and deprivation, and they are all aspects of 'social organisation'. In ^Health and Social Organisation leading British and North American researchers who bring together an invaluable collection of data on these issues, draw from the social sciences, epidemiology and biology.

There is widespread recognition that the most powerful determinants of health today are to be found in social, economic and cultural circumstances. These include: ecnomic growth, income distribution, consumption, work oganisation, unemployment and job insecurity, social and family structure, education and deprivation, and they are all aspects of 'social organisation'. In ^Health and Social Organisation leading British and North American researchers who bring together an invaluable collection of data on these issues, draw from the social sciences, epidemiology and biology.

Some groups of people are healthier than others. Overwhelmingly, for almost all kinds of morbidity and mortality, groups at the bottom of the social scale are less healthy than those at the top. But this simple observation describes a complex phenomenon that has become a major focus of research, teaching, intervention, and public policy and has led to recognition of the stark power of social determinants of population health. Why are poorer, less educated, lower-class groups less healthy than others? Historically, and indeed today, this has been a question that has polarized researchers, policy-makers, politicians, and casual onlookers. The debate is intensely contentious because if health inequalities are largely a consequence of people at the bottom of the social scale lacking resources and living in poor conditions, then, arguably, policies must be directed towards correcting those material deficits. But if inequalities in health are largely due to the social inequalities among people and their feelings about their position in relation to other people, then policies that encourage a more egalitarian society may be needed to close the health gap.Edited by two leading scholars in the field, the four volumes in this new Routledge Major Work bring together key research from a wide range of disciplines, including epidemiology and public health, sociology, psychology, biology, and public policy, to provide a coherent and multidisciplinary synthesis of this vast and vibrant literature.Volume I assembles the basic evidence of health inequalities in different countries and different time periods, and focuses on the extent to which health inequalities result from social selection versus social causation. Volume II covers the main schools of thought on the causes of health inequalities and the pathways linking low social status to poor health. The focus of the third volume is on the effectiveness of interventions that have been designed to reduce health inequalities. The theme of Volume IV is the social and political ecology of health and the biology and psychology of human sensitivity to the social environment.Fully indexed and with a comprehensive introduction newly written by the editors, which places the collected material in its historical and intellectual context, Health and Inequality is an essential work of reference for both scholars and practitioners hoping to understand (and mitigate or remove) inequalities in health.

Louis XIV ruled France for more than half a century and is typically remembered for his absolutism, his patronage of the arts and his lavish lifestyle – culminating in the building of Versailles. This original and lively biography focuses on Louis’s personal life while keeping the needs of the history student at the forefront, featuring analysis of Louis’s wider significance in history and the surrounding historiography. This book balances the undeniable cultural achievements of the reign against the realities of Louis’s egotism and argues that, when viewed critically, Louis’s rule (1643–1715) personified the disadvantages of absolute monarchy, and inexorably led to social and political blunders, resulting in the suffering of millions. Richard Wilkinson demonstrates that while Louis excelled as a self-publicist, he fell far short of being a great monarch.This second edition includes an up-to-date and accessible biography, further sections on the women at Louis’s court, France in an international context and new material looking at Louis’s involvement in ballet. This book is essential reading for all history students and those with a general interest in one of history’s most colourful rulers.

Louis XIV ruled France for more than half a century and is typically remembered for his absolutism, his patronage of the arts and his lavish lifestyle – culminating in the building of Versailles. This original and lively biography focuses on Louis’s personal life while keeping the needs of the history student at the forefront, featuring analysis of Louis’s wider significance in history and the surrounding historiography. This book balances the undeniable cultural achievements of the reign against the realities of Louis’s egotism and argues that, when viewed critically, Louis’s rule (1643–1715) personified the disadvantages of absolute monarchy, and inexorably led to social and political blunders, resulting in the suffering of millions. Richard Wilkinson demonstrates that while Louis excelled as a self-publicist, he fell far short of being a great monarch.This second edition includes an up-to-date and accessible biography, further sections on the women at Louis’s court, France in an international context and new material looking at Louis’s involvement in ballet. This book is essential reading for all history students and those with a general interest in one of history’s most colourful rulers.

An inspiring manifesto offering a radical vision for our political future.We live in an age of crisis and decline. The right presents ‘solutions’ that only worsen the situation, driving a downward cycle in which desperation leads to despair. But the left is also to blame: progressive politicians have consistently failed to recognise both the urgency of people’s need and their receptiveness to new solutions.In Act now, a team of leading researchers presents a compelling and achievable vision for a progressive future. They outline clear policies for welfare, health and social care, education, housing and more. Arguing for a rolling forwards of the state, they call for a new era of active citizenship and economic democracy, grounded in robust and resilient institutions.Only a comprehensive and integrated approach, based on clear evidence of feasibility and popularity, can provide a pathway to the secure, democratic and prosperous Britain of tomorrow. This book is the blueprint. It calls on politicians, pundits and the British people to act now.

David Lloyd George left a profound political legacy, despite being described by the wife of his successor, Herbert Asquith, as a 'gambler without foresight'. He is, of course, best known as the Prime Minister who led Britain to victory in World War I, but his contribution to domestic politics was similarly impressive. As Chancellor of the Exchequer he introduced pensions and national insurance against sickness and unemployment, while as Prime Minister he extended democracy by giving votes to women. Yet Lloyd George was compromised by his flaws as a human being. Vain, cruel, capricious and dishonest, at times his notoriously corrupt nature threatened to damage the British political system. Providing a unique new perspective on one of the most phenomenally-talented - but also one of the most phenomenally-flawed - of British Prime Ministers, this book will be essential reading for anyone interested in modern British politics and history.