I’ve just had an email about a campaign that I think is very relevant to the whole idea of “living well with less stuff”. One of the most impressive books I’ve read recently is The Spirit Level by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, which demonstrates through worldwide research that inequality underlies many of the world’s problems and that societies which are more equal do better not only on health and wellbeing but also on concern for the environment. Unequal societies encourage us to consume more because a way we feel we can “get on” in a competitive environment is by possessing more to show our high status. The Equality Trust is raising money to make a film of The Spirit Level, aiming to raise awareness of this issue in the way Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth did for climate change. This is an ideal time for such a film, what with people being so angry about bankers’ bonuses and talk of inequality more in the open than it has been.
Visit their website to see what they are planning and what we can do to help.