The declaration of independence says all men were created equal, but forging an equal society is easier said then done. Our economic system creates winners and losers. There is new evidence that if gap widens too far between the winners and losers a whole range of social ills are more likely.

Richard Wilkinson is an epidemiologist and co-author of the book The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better. In the book he discusses the results of his research, it started with the relationship between income and health. Wilkenson began to notice that countries with smaller income differences between rich and poor had better overall life expectancy and lower death rates. Then he found that violence was more common in unequal societies.