The Broken Ladder: How Inequality Affects the Way We Think, Live, and Die
Keith Payne (Penguin Random House, 2017)
The disparity between rich and poor has ramifications that extend far beyond mere financial means. Inequality has profound consequences for how we think, how we respond to stress, how our immune systems function, and even how we view justice, fairness, and other moral concepts.
Class War: The Privatization of Childhood
Megan Erickson (Verso, 2015)
In more unequal societies, childhood becomes a period of of intense preparation in which parents worry, hover, and stretch finances to give their children the best opportunities possible because one mistake can dictate their financial situation for the rest of their lives.
Why We Can’t Afford the Rich
Andrew Sayer (University of Chicago Press, 2015)
British social scientist explains how the super rich do not create new wealth for society, but instead extracts it from, and at the expense of, society.
Breadline Britain: The Rise of Mass Poverty
Stewart Lansley and Joanna Mack (Oneworld, 2015)
Two British economists explore the concentration of wealth and income at the top of society and the lengths the super rich go to cover up the plight of the poor.
This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate
Naomi Klein (Simon & Schuster, 2014)
Progressive author explains how modern American capitalism is driving inequality and climate change.
Economics for the Rest of Us: Debunking the Science that Makes Life Dismal
Moshe Adler (New Press, 2010)
A blast against the case that “what’s good for the economy” must always be what’s “good for the rich.”
The $12 Million Stuffed Shark
Don Thompson (Aurum, 2008)
Should we be profusely thanking our super-rich for supporting the arts? An economist explores the interaction of fine art and grand fortune.
The Impact of Inequality: how to make sick societies healthier
Richard G. Wilkinson (New Press, 2005)
How great divides in income and wealth undermine the quality — and even the length — of the lives we lead.
A Short History of Progress
Ronald Wright (Carroll and Graf Publishers, 2005)
Archaeologist and historical philosopher Ronald Wright explains how environmental
degradation, urban collapse, and deep-seated inequality have been going together hand in hand for 4,000 years.