A more equal society would be good for people at the top as well as the middle and bottom.

[edam]

Caught this author on Start the Week. "The epidemiologist RICHARD WILKINSON believes that more equal societies produce better health and happiness for all of us, not just the poor. He describes how improving the distribution of wealth contributes to lower crime rates, lower disease rates and less anxiety about status. It can even help to address global warming. His book The Spirit Level is co-authored with Kate Pickett and published by Allen Lane."

Link here where you can listen to the programme he's at the start.

It needs to be an internal process, there will be too much resentment if it's imposed on people. There's alot of people that are self first, it's a defence mechanism, probably there to care for children in times of food being scarce, in today's society where food is easy to find it manifests itself in a different way.

Well, external doesn't have to be just imposed laws etc. - can be as simple as peer pressure. A healthy balance between choosing to do what is right yourself, just because it's right, and knowing that everyone will scorn you as a selfish nubbin if you don't

Well it needs to be external to some degree. That is what taxation is for, as well as laws against all manner of thieving, both of which seem to have broken down in some areas lately.

Oliver James book "Affluenza" says pretty much the same thing. There is data available that shows the bigger the financial disparity in a city, the greater the incidence of poor mental health. In cities/countries where governments positively enforce/encourage equality of sex/apy etc, the lower the incidence of mental health problems (Denmark)

wow, loads of responses while I wasn't looking.

(Hello MI, btw!)

OK, of course those who say we will never have an ideal society are right. But we've been getting less and less equal over the past three decades - isn't it time to try a different tack and say, actually, Mandelson's line about being seriously relaxed about the filthy rich has been proved wrong.

It works for countries like Sweden. I reckon it's time we taxed the rich fairly, rather than letting the wealthy individuals and corporations get away with avoiding their liabilities.

Have heard people on here saying 'why should I pay a penny more than I have to' but I think the answer is because it's unjust - poor and middle-income people can't afford to employ specialists to examine all the loopholes (and exploit exemptions that were actually created for a specific purpose) so the rich are getting away with paying less than their fair share.

The well off depend on social infrastructure like the justice system, the police, airports, roads, schools and hospitals just as much as the rest of us - even if they send their kids private, they still need state education to turn out employees or doctors who will treat them when they are ill.