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davidgilani's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this - interesting take on the ways in which it's not just the existence of inequality, but the perceptions of the existence of inequality that causes so many of the issues in our society. The book has a nice flow to it through the way the different chapters are structured... and it makes good use of data about the way the world is / was, in addition to calling on a wider variety of scientific papers and studies that have looked at the issues of inequality.
bootman's review against another edition
5.0
Many books that discuss inequality discuss it from a moral and ethical point of view, but this was by far the best book I've read that really looked at it from all angles. Keith Payne has been studying inequality for years, and this book focuses on the psychology of inequality. There's a huge misconception that lower-class people make bad decisions for bad reasons, but when you understand the psychology, you see how they are forced into what Payne calls the "live fast and die young" approach.
The Broken Ladder is an absolute must-read because it really focuses on how many of our issues come from our relative status. When you have a better understanding of that, you see that there are certain things we can do to improve our happiness and well-being now as we also fight to change how our society runs. This book reminded me of the documentary Happy, which started out with the story of one of the happiest people on Earth, but the kicker was that he and his family basically live in poverty. The Broken Ladder offers a ton of societal as well as individual solutions, and I can't recommend it enough.
The Broken Ladder is an absolute must-read because it really focuses on how many of our issues come from our relative status. When you have a better understanding of that, you see that there are certain things we can do to improve our happiness and well-being now as we also fight to change how our society runs. This book reminded me of the documentary Happy, which started out with the story of one of the happiest people on Earth, but the kicker was that he and his family basically live in poverty. The Broken Ladder offers a ton of societal as well as individual solutions, and I can't recommend it enough.
jennylimmy's review against another edition
3.0
This feels like a companion piece to Scarcity (Shafir, Mullainathan 2013), which explores the cognitive costs of poverty. The Broken Ladder clarifies that absolute need is not the only problem: feelings of relative need can take a cognitive toll as well. However, this book does not hold to the high standard of Scarcity: some of the studies the author mentions are sloppy (not even blind!), and he does not do much to clarify correlation v. causation.
Nonetheless, the book’s overall argument is convincing, though somewhat obvious: if inequality were reduced in the U.S., everyone would probably be better off.
Nonetheless, the book’s overall argument is convincing, though somewhat obvious: if inequality were reduced in the U.S., everyone would probably be better off.
mikecross's review against another edition
5.0
The author does an excellent job bringing home his point that inequality is the root of many societal problems using data, studies, and facts without subscribing to a liberal or conservative agenda. Very well written and researched, and includes actual solutions to the problems identified. My only complaint was that the book wasn't longer, I wasn't ready for it to end. Highly recommended for everyone.
jocelynw's review against another edition
3.0
Another one Barack told me to read, which I requested from the library on that basis without finding out more about it in advance. It provides a broad survey of psychological research on inequality. You might want to try giving this to someone you disagree with on the problem (or non-problem) of inequality - I felt like Payne worked hard not to seem to be approaching from the left and certainly seemed to be trying to win over and not alienate conservatives.
erintby's review against another edition
3.0
This is worth the read as a quick, accessible primer on inequality. Payne provides an overview of many fascinating studies about how inequality affects individuals and society, showing that high levels of inequality are related to high levels of polarization, racial prejudice, unhappiness, and more. Extreme economic inequality is a common denominator for so many public policy issues, including education, health, crime, and housing.
There were even some fascinating studies that show that liberals and conservatives may have more in common than it's easy to think. As one example, in Chapter 9, I learned that when surveyed, people thought CEOs should ideally only be paid between 4-5 times the average worker; liberals leaned closer to 4 times, conservatives closer to 5 times. Participants estimated that in fact CEOs are paid around 30 times more, revealing gross ignorance of the much larger actual ratio of CEO to worker pay of 350:1.
Overall, I agree with Payne's conclusion that income inequality in the US should be treated like a public health issue, as this fits nicely into the medical anthropology perspective that I have. Yet, throughout the book, Payne tries to find common ground between theories of poverty that emphasize behavior and that emphasize environment. There is definitely a feedback loop between the two, and while I agree with most of what he says, I do feel like for as much as he discusses how poverty changes behavior, he doesn't spend enough time exploring how poverty constrains agency. This could be explained by looking at David Brady's (2019) article "Theories of the Causes of Poverty"... it seems to me that Payne discusses behaviorist and structuralist theories but doesn't spend enough time illustrating the difference between what Brady calls structuralist and political theories.
There were even some fascinating studies that show that liberals and conservatives may have more in common than it's easy to think. As one example, in Chapter 9, I learned that when surveyed, people thought CEOs should ideally only be paid between 4-5 times the average worker; liberals leaned closer to 4 times, conservatives closer to 5 times. Participants estimated that in fact CEOs are paid around 30 times more, revealing gross ignorance of the much larger actual ratio of CEO to worker pay of 350:1.
Overall, I agree with Payne's conclusion that income inequality in the US should be treated like a public health issue, as this fits nicely into the medical anthropology perspective that I have. Yet, throughout the book, Payne tries to find common ground between theories of poverty that emphasize behavior and that emphasize environment. There is definitely a feedback loop between the two, and while I agree with most of what he says, I do feel like for as much as he discusses how poverty changes behavior, he doesn't spend enough time exploring how poverty constrains agency. This could be explained by looking at David Brady's (2019) article "Theories of the Causes of Poverty"... it seems to me that Payne discusses behaviorist and structuralist theories but doesn't spend enough time illustrating the difference between what Brady calls structuralist and political theories.
elsiebrady's review against another edition
4.0
The author covers a wide variety of the effects of inequality in our lives, regardless of where we find ourselves in the inequality equation. In fact, where you think you are plays a greater role than where you actually are. The many studies are fascinating with their implications wide ranging. The author offers several suggestions in his conclusion from government policies to individual changes. This interestingly qualifies The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell, why Danes are so happy.
Excellent read! Now let's make some social changes.
Excellent read! Now let's make some social changes.
lydaalexander's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
This book really made me think about the unconscious ways inequality can affect us (me included!) even when that inequality is in your favor. I found the science approachable, but the sources were also provided if you wanted to dig more into the studies behind the work and draw your own conclusions.