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A timely examination by a leading scientist of the physical psychological and moral effects of inequality

Todays inequality is on a scale that none of us has seen in our lifetimes yet this disparity between rich and poor has ramifications that extend far beyond mere financial means. In?The Broken Ladder?psychologist Keith Payne examines how inequality divides us not just economically but also has profound consequences for how we think how our cardiovascular systems respond to stress how our immune systems function and how we view moral ideas such as justice and fairness.

Experiments in psychology neuroscience and behavioral economics have not only revealed important new insights on how inequality changes people in predictable ways but have also provided a corrective to our flawed way of viewing poverty as the result of individual character failings. Among modern developed societies economic inequality is not primarily about money but rather about relative status: where we stand in relation to other people. Regardless of their average income?? countries or states with greater levels of inco