If you want something trashy to read on the beach, I’ve got a recommendation

Dr Social Policy

What an utterly fatuous piece of writing even during the holiday season. Attacking Wilkinson and Pickett's Spirit Level is certainly flavour of the month despite it having some appeal to leading figures in British politics.

Spirit Level is an excellent example of accessible academic work that should be widely read (more than 36,000 copies sold which is pretty good going) and discussed rather than dismissed as 'junk food for the brain.' This is simply shallow journalism - I was going to call it simple hacking but I still believe in being polite - that Toby Young seemingly peddles.

I think that the Saunders critique is flawed in that he excludes outliers from his analysis. I think the Snowdon point about the difference between correlation and causation is a point worth making but when there are so many indicators suggesting a link between social inequalities and levels of ill health and social problems then there needs to be quite strong evidence that the hypothesis is wrong.

As for Toby Young's point about draconian expatriation of 12 million people... This is nothing short of a ridiculous straw man being constructed to discredit a perfectly defensible point of view put forward by Wilkinson and Pickett. The authors of the Spirit Level offer a road forward to a more equal, healthier and (hopefully) happier society where freedom is positively exercised.

When reading much of what passes for analysis of contemporary society, particularly from the right of centre, I'm reminded of Hobhouse's critique of early 20th century capitalism: 'Liberty without equality is a name of noble sound and squalid result.'

Morus

I think TY is a little unfair to the Spirit Level authors for much of the piece, but the nub is correct.

"Evidence-based" policy cannot exist - it presupposes that the evidence alone prescribes social policy, either through a lack of ideological framework or through ideological consensus.

The proof that smoking causing cancer does not necessarily imply the need for a smoking ban. Evidence AGW doesn't necessarily demand green taxes.

The problem over the last 20 years has been that politicians have been fearful of having ideological stances because they perceive that they deter centrist voters. True, no-one wants an ideologue who ignores evidence, but now we have evidence being used to support only the most obvious intuitive solution (which then claims to be free of ideology, when in fact it is blind to its ideological underpinnings).

Evidence-based policy is a dangerous myth. Evidence-informed policy should be the highest goal, with all evidence used to challenge explicit moral and political frameworks.

The Spirit Level doesn't suggest ideologically-free answers, perfect for the managerialist government: it draws battle lines and makes a case for a Social Democratic path, where greater equality (with limits on social and economic freedoms of individuals) leads to a version of greater happiness. If they're claiming to be the former, it is disingenuous - if the latter, then it's a welcome articulation of one side of the modern debate.

Accordingly

"It's bunkum, obviously" probably won't enter the annals as one of the most effective rebuttals in history.

But to join you on a similar level of sophistication: it is at least refreshing to have some tenets of senseless right-wing reactionism restated with such candour (who really cares about public health, anyway?), and traditionally presented wrapped in the ribbon of 'life, liberty and property'. Thanks.

Neutral Observer

But umm...hasn't the UK already tried Mr Young's suggestion of shipping the poorest 20% off to some island? As I recall it was called Australia. Moreover in terms of raising health standards for all it was actually quite effective.

Fubar Saunders

"Spirit Level is an excellent example of accessible academic work that should be widely read"

Are you for real? Its a pile of Islingtonite champagne socialist sh*te! I read it on holiday in Morocco and had to be forcibly restrained from throwing it in the swimming pool on several occasions. The stats and the conclusions do not add up. The Spirit Level Delusion on the other hand addresses a lot of the failings of the book in detail and I have yet to see a convincing counter-rebuttal from the authors of the original who have made no secret of their socialist agenda. The only reason Islington & Hampstead's self loathing chattering classes rushed to buy it is because it suits their agenda of stiffing the rich - you dont produce conditions to lift the lowest 20% out, you hammer the top 20%.

A load of old socialist b*ll*ks that should be burned. "Excellent example" my arse.

Anon

The UK is on the wrong track, following us Americans down the road of concentrated wealth. Not good.