Inequality and the 1%

Since the great recession hit in 2008, the 1% has only grown richer while the rest find life increasingly tough. The gap between the haves and the have-nots has turned into a chasm. While the rich have found new ways of protecting their wealth, everyone else has suffered the penalties of austerity.

But inequality is more than just economics. Being born outside the 1% has a dramatic impact on a person's potential: reducing life expectancy, limiting education and work prospects, and even affecting mental health.

What is to be done? In Inequality and the 1% leading social thinker Danny Dorling lays bare the extent and true cost of the division in our society and asks what have the superrich ever done for us. He shows that inquality is the greatest threat we face and why we must urgently redress the balance.

“An incredibly thoughtful book. With wit, expertise and a necessary anger, Danny Dorling makes the case for a ‘slow revolution’ against the concentrated wealth of the top 1%, who threaten our national and global well-being. Read him. Enjoy him. Join him.” —Melissa Benn, writer and campaigner

“A convincing picture of the epic insulation of the 1%.” —Mary O’Hara, author of Austerity Bites

“A clear and readable account of the damage wrought by extreme inequality. This is a powerful book.” —Kate E. Pickett, co-author of The Spirit Level

“Dorling asks questions about inequality that fast become unswervable: can we afford the superrich? Can society prosper? Can we realize our potential?” —Zoe Williams, Guardian

Danny Dorling is the Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography, Oxford. He appears regularly on TV and radio, and writes for the Guardian, New Statesman and other papers. He advises government and the office for national statistics. Among his books are All That Is Solid; Population 10 Billion; So You Think You Know About Britain?; and Injustice.