Dysfunctional societies Why inequality matters

Streaming video - 2016

Why does the the United States, despite being one of the richest nations in the world, lag behind so many other rich Western societies in a number of crucial statistical measures -- including life expectancy, violence, health, community, teen pregnancy, mental illness, and incarceration? According to a growing body of research, it's because the U.S. has far more income inequality than these other wealthy societies. In Dysfunctional Societies, a timely and fascinating new film based on the international bestseller The Spirit Level, British researcher Richard Wilkinson explores the correlation between wealth distribution, health, and overall happiness within modern societies. Mobilizing decades of sociological research, Wilkinson details... the devastating toll economic inequality is taking on people in the U.S. and around the world, and shows how societies with the smallest gaps between rich and poor enjoy the highest levels of health and happiness across all social and economic classes. The result is a powerful and eye-opening look at one of the most widely discussed issues of our current political moment. Dysfunctional Societies is an ideal resource for courses in Sociology, Health, Economics, Political Science, History, Cultural Studies, and others interested in the relationship between economic arrangements and the health and happiness of societies. more