An Argument for Equality

I am quoting this rather extensively, but that is because, there can be no better argument for doing away with economic disparities:

This is David Runciman reviewing a book called "The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better", by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett .

Here's the first para of the review I found in London Review of Books:

Image via Wikipedia

"The argument of this fascinating and deeply provoking book is easy to summarise: among rich countries, the more unequal ones do worse according to almost every quality of life indicator you can imagine. They do worse even if they are richer overall, so that per capita GDP turns out to be much less significant for general wellbeing than the size of the gap between the richest and poorest 20 per cent of the population (the basic measure of inequality the authors use). The evidence that Wilkinson and Pickett supply to make their case is overwhelming. Whether the test is life expectancy, infant mortality, obesity levels, crime rates, literacy scores, even the amount of rubbish that gets recycled, the more equal the society the better the performance invariably is. In graph after graph measuring various welfare functions, the authors show that the best predictor of how countries will rank is not the differences in wealth between them (which would result in the US coming top, with the Scandinavian countries and the UK not too far behind, and poorer European nations like Greece and Portugal bringing up the rear) but the differences in wealth within them (so the US, as the most unequal society, comes last on many measures, followed by Portugal and the UK, both places where the gap between rich and poor is relatively large, with Spain and Greece somewhere in the middle, and the Scandinavian countries invariably out in front, along with Japan). Just as significantly, this pattern holds inside the US as well, where states with high levels of income inequality also tend to have the greatest social problems. It is true that some of the most unequal American states are also among the poorest (Mississippi, Louisiana, West Virginia), so you might expect things to go worse there. But some unequal states are also rich (California), whereas some fairly equal ones are also quite poor (Utah). Only a few (New Hampshire, Wyoming) score well on both counts. What the graphs show are the unequal states tending to cluster together regardless of income, so that California usually finds itself alongside Mississippi scoring badly, while New Hampshire and Utah both do consistently well. Income inequality, not income per se, appears to be the key. As a result, the authors are able to draw a clear conclusion: ‘The evidence shows that even small decreases in inequality, already a reality in some rich market democracies, make a very important difference to the quality of life.’ Achieving these decreases should be the central goal of our politics, precisely because we can be confident that it works. This is absolutely not, they insist, a ‘utopian dream’."

I hope people of India, the comfortably ensconced middle class, puts away its myopic glasses and look out and look at the poor people.

The justifications of these car-cocooned ("money will percolate down to them after we are done with it") are more heartbreaking than the grinding poverty of these gentle souls (okay, they are idlers and ruffians, but they don't rationalise their wrongs with Nobel-Prize winning theories, right?).

Someone has to do something- a kilogram of essential vegetables costs as much as a litre of petrol! If you don't do anything, these we well-off will have to face the consequences of our narcissism: our children will take to drugs, we will be mugged, our houses burgled, and our women inside our air-conditioned flats will tremble when someone rings the calling-bell. And then, when we manage survive everything- swine flu will get us.

Serves us right.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Why More Equality - The Effects of Inequality (endhereditaryreligion.com)
• Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better (themoderatevoice.com)

Today is World Poverty Day

Image via Wikipedia

Today is World Poverty Day:

"The observance of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty can be traced back to 17 October 1987. On that day, over a hundred thousand people gathered at the Trocadéro in Paris, where the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed in 1948, to honour the victims of extreme poverty, violence and hunger. They proclaimed that poverty is a violation of human rights and affirmed the need to come together to ensure that these rights are respected. These convictions are inscribed in a commemorative stone unveiled on this day. Since then, people of all backgrounds, beliefs and social origins have gathered every year on October 17 th to renew their commitment and show their solidarity with the poor. Replicas of the commemorative stone have been unveiled around the world and serve as a gathering place to celebrate the Day. One such replica is located in the garden of United Nations Headquarters and is the site of the annual commemoration organized by the United Nations Secretariat in New York.

Through resolution 47/196 adopted on 22 December 1992, the General Assembly declared 17 October as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and invited all States to devote the Day to presenting and promoting, as appropriate in the national context, concrete activities with regard to the eradication of poverty and destitution. The resolution further invites intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to assist States, at their request, in organizing national activities for the observance of the Day, and requests the Secretary-General to take, within existing resources, the measures necessary to ensure the success of the Day's observance by the United Nations."

I don't think I can add anything to this, or do anything to abolish poverty (in fact, if someone helps me rid of my poverty, I'll be eternally grateful!).

Be that as it may be, let's just be aware that there are poor people in the world, and if we do whatever we can we can help them breathe a bit easier.

Personally I would say that I am poor internally, spiritually (emotionally, existentially- not religiously)- and there is nothing you or anyone can do about that.

But there are people struggling for food and clothing- and it's a pity we think we can do nothing about that.

I would think up one or two things this day, to help ease up the life of at least one or two people. Let's see.

By the way, this is Diwali- the Festival of Lights, and I wish you all happiness.