Mind the Gap: An Evolutionary View of Health and Ineqality (Darwinism Today) Book

Part of Weidenfeld's excellent Darwinism Today series, designed to apply evolutionary theory to modern social and political conundra, Mind the Gap's particular bugbear is given in its subtitle: Hierarchies, Health and Human Evolution as UCL academic Richard Wilkinson tackles the sticky area of sociobiological rationale behind human inequality.Wilkinson's position is unashamedly egalitarian: that disparities of wealth and esteem within a society lead to unjustifiable suffering and stress in those with fewer resources, or less status. And before any out-and-out capitalists dismiss this as socialist nonsense they should see the evidence Wilkinson has adduced in support of his stance: modern sociobiology has proved that low-status humans (like junior office clerks, or dustmen) suffer more stress, and more disease, and consequently earlier deaths, than high-status humans--even when other factors like smoking or alcoholism are stripped out. Even more striking, "poor" but egalitarian societies like Greece seem to be healthier than rich, unequal societies like the US; and "cohesive" Sweden and Japan enjoy longer life expectancy than unequal Great Britain. A pithy, articulate and agreeably combative book. --Sean ThomasRead More