The higher the GDP of a country the better off its people will be, right? Wrong. Richard Wilkinson charts the hard data on economic inequality, and shows
what gets worse when rich and poor are too far apart: real effects on
health, lifespan, even such basic values as trust.
Watch:
How economic inequality harms societies
True or false?
1. The
average well-being of our societies is not dependent any
longer
on
national income and economic growth.
2. There’s
no relationship between child well-being and national income per person.
3. New Zealand is a comparatively equal
country.
4. Poorer countries still need to focus on raising
the average nation income, but richer countries need to concentrate on even
distribution of income.
5. Higher
rates of imprisonment are driven by higher crime.
6. In
Scandinavian countries, your fathers' income is more important than in less equal
countries.
7. Sweden
and Japan achieve equality in similar ways.
8. In
Japan there are greater differences between incomes than in Sweden.
9. It’s
mostly the poor who are affected by inequality.
10. Greater
equality makes most difference at the top, but has some benefits
at the bottom.
11. The
psychosocial effect of inequality is more status insecurity.
12. The
correlation of inequality and social problems proves that they are caused by
inequality.
Discuss:
"No
man is an island." What was Wilkerson trying say with this quote?
Was
your country on the graphs? How equal / unequal was it? What kinds of social problems do you see in your country? Are they connected with inequality? Are there other causes?
