August 12, 2010 6:30 PM - 50 attended
Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better (Mini Meetup)
EnlightenNext (map)
Join us on what could be one of the big debates of the next decade – the importance of having a more equal society in order to achieve more wellbeing for all – both the rich and the poor.
The United Kingdom is one of the most unequal societies in the Western developed world. A book based on a number of studies has shown that unequal societies suffer higher levels of violence, crime, obesity, ill health, infant mortality, teenage pregnancies and a host of other ills. Even the rich do worse.
The book is "The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better “written by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett and makes it abundantly clear that bringing about a fairer, more equal society is not just ethically correct but politically essential.
The authors have set up The Equality Trust to promote their ideas (http://www.equalitytr.../) and a London Equality Group has been formed. Speaking at our meeting will be either Kathryn Busby or Bill Kerry from The Equality Trust.
Bill Kerry is a co-founder of The Equality Trust and works for the Trust as a part-time consultant. He speaks regularly for the Trust and has written and blogged for various organisations including Oxfam and the pressure group Compass. Prior to the launch of the Trust he worked as a Company Secretary across the private, charitable and social enterprise sectors.
Kathryn Busby joined the Trust in February 2009, shortly prior to its launch, and works full-time as Policy & Campaigns Manager. Kathryn has nine years experience of working for charities and campaigning organisation; these include Shelter, the Forgiveness Project and the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT). She is now a member of the CAAT Steering Committee and recently became their Treasurer.
Later in the year we hope to hold a major meetup on this subject and include other speakers.
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A former member
You will get some people saying, oh but we are not all equal.
They have mssed the point.Posted June 21, 2010 at 1:11 PM -
A former member
it's easy to mistake being different as person with being unequal as human being.
Posted June 22, 2010 at 6:13 AM -
Christina Wiltshire
Some members may be interested in a new discussion site that one of our members Nicolas Holzapfel has developed. Yoomoot is an organised discussion site and some of our events will be posted there with questions around our meetings like '
Is income inequality the main cause of high crime and relatively poor health? ' http://yoomoot.com/category/globalnet21/
Posted July 5, 2010 at 4:10 PM -
A former member
Thanks for mentioning us Christina.
I think yoomoot and GlobalNet21 could be a very good fit. The problem with normal online discussions (like this one right here) is that the bigger they get the messier they get. So people's insights get buried in a big mess of comments. yoomoot is about making online discussions as organised and useful as Wikipedia articles.
For a more detailed explanation of the yoomoot mission, see http://yoomoot.com/articles/why-use-yoomoot/
Posted July 5, 2010 at 5:48 PM -
Robin Smith
Yes. Yet is this idea not still incomplete? Isn't the Law of Human Progress as follows:
Association frees mental power for improvement. Equality keeps this power from dissipating in fruitless struggles. We thus arrive at our law:
Association in equality is the law of human progress.
Association is the first essential of progress
Equality, or justice, is the second essential of progress
Evidence? :
http://www.henrygeorge.org/pchp41.htmPosted August 10, 2010 at 10:22 AM -
Dr A.V.MATAI
Equality fosters empathy and mutual love while inequality breeds hatred and pride.
Posted August 10, 2010 at 10:39 AM
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Francis SealeyEvent HostFull member, OrganizerThanks to all those who took part in the discussion yesterday and for the very good attendance. Indeed the attendance turned out to be better than we expected so the interest in the subject and the discussion must have been high. There were some really good points raised and I hope we can follow them up with further meetings and action. I have uploaded some photos of the meeting as well as a short video which you will see at the bottom of the home page. Thanks again to everyone.
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Christina WiltshireEvent HostFull member, Co-OrganizerThis meeting was very well attended and a lively and an interesting start to a huge subject. Alas, time constraints prevailed, but Becky's talk was excellent and there were many valuable points raised. Thanks to everyone who attended and the staff at EnlightenNext. This meeting indeed commands a follow up in the very near future.
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Peter JonesJust to remind all about Amartya Sen's book: Development as Freedom. He discusses in great depth happiness (utility) and freedom to access resources as other key factors to consider. Clearly the statistics we saw show there is something there, albeit we know we don't have a 100% sample, and the other factors raised at the meeting and by Mr Sen could well point in the same direction. If not, that would be another interesting discussion - why the differences ? Much learning to be obtained from such debates - thank you, thank you, thank you. Action to be taken ? I agree that group leaders need to take action promoting the group on a wider front. Individually, I will certainly be promoting the group to my business and social networks. Leaders may want to look at http://www.... as a possible speaking opportunity next year. Bill is a known contact of mine, and one of the good guys.
To a kinder, more caring world !
Peter.
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IslaIt's a shame I haven't yet read the book, as that might have helped me form a more firm view of the conversation. However it was a very interesting discussion, with good points raised, and I wish there'd been more time to talk both as a group, and with people afterwards. I'd certainly be interested in a follow-up meetup, and hope to read the book soon too.
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Maria NashFull member+1 guestGood to hear peoples ideas and concerns. It needs to be an ongoing theme to ensure that there is continuity and monitoring of how we are progressing to making a difference
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Dr A.V.MATAIFull memberBecause hatred is minimized and opportunity to rise is available to all, more equal societies perform better. We should keep pushing the theme, it will do good to all.
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maria lagaresEven though it is difficult to apply scientific rigour to sociology it was great to see a genuine effort to propose an evidence based theory to promote social change. Without this type of foundation ideology can be dismissed as personal preference based at best on preconceptions and perhaps misconceptions and at worst on prejudice built usually on anecdotal evidence.
The contributions from the floor were also very interesting. If we want to be able to effect change we need to build a body of knowledge upon which viable alternatives can withstand close scrutiny and acquire wide credibility.
Well done to the organisers, brilliant.
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terence freedmanFull memberVery full and I was a little diverted by door duties. I am credulous. I will need to read the book to see if the authors offer an explanation for contrary trends such as the hiogh suicide rate in Sweden. Perhaps societies need competition and high rewards to keep them dynamic. There were many discussion threads and interesting points raised and developed. There were also notes of caution about change. There were knots of people networking and chatting after the meeting finished.
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