Do Cubans live longer than Americans? Are Scandinavians happier than the British? Do Oscar winners live longer than other actors? Does capitalism cause mental illness? Does inequality lead to murder? Would higher taxes make us slimmer, more trusting and more charitable? The Spirit Level Delusion shines the light of reason on some of the extraordinary claims made in favour of big government in the twenty-first century. Several books (The Spirit Level, Happiness and Affluenza amongst others) have called for a radical shift in power from the individual to the state based on the supposedly devastating effects of wealth, economic growth and inequality. By examining all the available evidence, Christopher Snowdon tests the theory that 'more equal' countries are healthier, happier and more successful. Through a sober assessment of the facts-including some inconvenient truths-The Spirit Level Delusion shows that the theory not only lacks empirical support but also fails the basic test of believability. "If you haven’t read a book that made you laugh out loud on the bus or the Tube in a while, try Christopher Snowdon’s superb release, The Spirit Level Delusion. But the book’s subtle humour is not the reason I am recommending it. The Spirit Level Delusion is, above all, a book that delivers and goes well beyond the promise of its subtitle – 'fact-checking the left’s new theory of everything'... It may well be that the next big battle for a free society will be fought against the new anti-wealth egalitarianism. Christopher Snowdon has provided defenders of freedom with powerful ammunition." — Kristian Niemietz, Institute of Economic Affairs "Snowdon picks so many holes in the theory that were it a building it wouldn’t be passed as structurally sound by the most crooked of third world local government surveyors... I wish that everyone who espoused The Spirit Level would read The Spirit Level Delusion, which explains just how dubious the science behind this grand theory is." — Ed West, The Telegraph "The Spirit Level Delusion not only successfully and dramatically undermines much of the evidence in The Spirit Level, but also takes on the other fashionable opponents of economic growth... His engaging discussion unpicks the evidence of the anti-growth brigade and demonstrates that it is selective and partial. This book is excellent “tube reading”. — Philip Booth, City AM
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206 of 217 people found the following review helpful
By John S. Dowd
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have read both The Spirit Level and Snowdon's book. While one of Snowdon's criticism has some merit, The Spirit Level is guilty of 'going beyond the data' fairly often and drawing conclusions not really warranted by the data shown, the rest of Snowdon's critique is little more than a polemic.
The one statement he makes about Correlation Coefficients is wrong. He uses, in his graphic presentations, the square of the correlation coefficient (I suspect because it shows a smaller value) and then misinterprets it. So he obviously does not even have a basic understanding of statistical methods (or else deliberately misconstrues them). He also is given to adding points and dropping points from scatterplots and then re-interpreting them. Again, the relationsip either stands as shown or it doesn't. One cannot add and take away points helter skelter. And he seems inclined to drop what he calls outliers in violation of most accepted methods for doing so. Merely dropping a point because it's highest (or lowest) won't do, as there will always be a highest or lowest point. Also if a point is well outside the range of other points, that does not, by itself, warrant its exclusion. He clearly wishes to drop these points because they don't agree with his view, not out of any statistical justification.
Snowdon takes the Spirit Level bibliography to task because it includes references to the authors previous works. Has Snowdon any familiarity with academic research at all? Authors very frequently list previous work they've done in their references; happens all the time.
Snowdon's review also contains serious allegations and numerous Ad Hominem attacks. He accuses the authors of The Spirit Level of "cherry picking" their data on more than one occasion in his review.... Read more ›
The one statement he makes about Correlation Coefficients is wrong. He uses, in his graphic presentations, the square of the correlation coefficient (I suspect because it shows a smaller value) and then misinterprets it. So he obviously does not even have a basic understanding of statistical methods (or else deliberately misconstrues them). He also is given to adding points and dropping points from scatterplots and then re-interpreting them. Again, the relationsip either stands as shown or it doesn't. One cannot add and take away points helter skelter. And he seems inclined to drop what he calls outliers in violation of most accepted methods for doing so. Merely dropping a point because it's highest (or lowest) won't do, as there will always be a highest or lowest point. Also if a point is well outside the range of other points, that does not, by itself, warrant its exclusion. He clearly wishes to drop these points because they don't agree with his view, not out of any statistical justification.
Snowdon takes the Spirit Level bibliography to task because it includes references to the authors previous works. Has Snowdon any familiarity with academic research at all? Authors very frequently list previous work they've done in their references; happens all the time.
Snowdon's review also contains serious allegations and numerous Ad Hominem attacks. He accuses the authors of The Spirit Level of "cherry picking" their data on more than one occasion in his review.... Read more ›
114 of 134 people found the following review helpful
By MargoF
Format:Paperback
I chose to read a few pages of Mr. Snowden's book concerning his 'debunking' of The Spirit Level to evaluate the logic of the book's argument. Mr. Snowden, twice in the few pages I could read online, accused Wilkenson of 'cherry-picking' data, when he himself, 'cherry picked" his own data, in both circumstances, to make his rebuttal. In other words his methodology of rebutting an argument is to disagree with an argument and then use the same methodology to validate his argument. As I thought, this is another example of a medium that someone uses to simply disagree with the result of any studies while not providing substantive evidence or appropriate methodology to support his argument. Wouldn't buy it.
364 of 446 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I've read the Spirit Level; before plunging into this book, I thought I'd do a quick check of the author's particulars. They are pretty slim - and what they do reveal is telling.
Where Wilkinson & Pickett (authors of the Spirit Level) have had long academic careers with numerous publications in reputable journals, Snowdon appears to be a fairly recent arrival with a limited list of publications to his credit. To wit, this book and "Velvet Glove, Iron Fist" which is about the history of anti-smoking campaigns and the dangers of letting politicians regulate private behavior.
Snowdon is listed as an Adjunct Scholar at the Democracy Institute, a conservative think-tank based in London and Washington with ties to the conservative Cato Institute. Another publication produced under the imprint of the Democracy Institute by John Luik on "why graphic warnings don't work" (in reducing tobacco consumption) was acknowledged as being "made possible by funding provided by Imperial Tobacco Group PLC".
While the evidence is circumstantial, I think the probability that this book by Snowdon is just another conservative-backed disinformation campaign is pretty high, especially since the subtitle is "fact-checking the Left". Save your money or better yet, wait till conservative think tanks start giving copies away to get the 'sales' numbers up if you absolutely have to have one.
UPDATE 11-18-2010: Since first putting up this review, I've received several comments which have been highly critical. I have yet to see any of the critics however post their own reviews of this book or address the points I raised about it. The one positive review pretty much speaks for itself. In short, I've seen nothing to "refudiate" my opinion to date.... Read more ›
Where Wilkinson & Pickett (authors of the Spirit Level) have had long academic careers with numerous publications in reputable journals, Snowdon appears to be a fairly recent arrival with a limited list of publications to his credit. To wit, this book and "Velvet Glove, Iron Fist" which is about the history of anti-smoking campaigns and the dangers of letting politicians regulate private behavior.
Snowdon is listed as an Adjunct Scholar at the Democracy Institute, a conservative think-tank based in London and Washington with ties to the conservative Cato Institute. Another publication produced under the imprint of the Democracy Institute by John Luik on "why graphic warnings don't work" (in reducing tobacco consumption) was acknowledged as being "made possible by funding provided by Imperial Tobacco Group PLC".
While the evidence is circumstantial, I think the probability that this book by Snowdon is just another conservative-backed disinformation campaign is pretty high, especially since the subtitle is "fact-checking the Left". Save your money or better yet, wait till conservative think tanks start giving copies away to get the 'sales' numbers up if you absolutely have to have one.
UPDATE 11-18-2010: Since first putting up this review, I've received several comments which have been highly critical. I have yet to see any of the critics however post their own reviews of this book or address the points I raised about it. The one positive review pretty much speaks for itself. In short, I've seen nothing to "refudiate" my opinion to date.... Read more ›
26 of 32 people found the following review helpful
By Pemphix
Format:Paperback
Original book The Spirit Level veered into over-enthusiasm towards the end and deserved some critique. Snowdon misses the target and shoots himself in both feet, repeatedly. Thankfully, The Spirit Level Delusion is a short book and quite entertaining along the way. Chapter 4 has the most towering absurdities and might have come straight from The Onion. Enjoy that, and just skip the rest.
22 of 29 people found the following review helpful
By Inara
Format:Paperback
I must said I did not make it all the way through the book, but I did not have to either.
First, books that name themselves after other books and were written solely to criticize are usually hack jobs.
Second, virtually everything this author complains about he himself is guilty of doing in this AND his only other book.
Third, consider the source, the author is a member of a conservative "think tank" who's only other book is about how anti-smoking are bad.
First, books that name themselves after other books and were written solely to criticize are usually hack jobs.
Second, virtually everything this author complains about he himself is guilty of doing in this AND his only other book.
Third, consider the source, the author is a member of a conservative "think tank" who's only other book is about how anti-smoking are bad.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Poorly Written, Inaccurate, agenda-driven propaganda.
My title says it all really, apart from the authors vague attempt at irony and humour the book was unentertaining, ill-informed/mis-leading to those who don't do their own,... Read more
Published 5 months ago by G. Flinn
3.0 out of 5 stars
Shadow boxing in the Spirit world
Christopher Snowdon, more historian than economist, attacked Wilkinson & Pickett's 2009 book "The Spirit Level". Read more
Published 12 months ago by Hande Z
1.0 out of 5 stars
Spirit Level thin, but Delusion fails in its attempt to delude
Spirit Level has good material for a nice feature article --not a book.
The point is important, but not insightful. Read more
The point is important, but not insightful. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Robert B. Rogers
1.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect for Fox News and Glen Beck fans.
Crappy book, sub-par author spouting right-wing, unsubstantiated, propaganda for the idiot right.
This book exists only to say another book is wrong. Read more
This book exists only to say another book is wrong. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Francesco Santora
5.0 out of 5 stars
to those hurling cherry-picks at each other...
I have not read Snowden's book, yet. I came to look it over after it was mentioned in an essay titled The Trojan Horse of "Happiness Research" (Thomas DiLorenzo, June 9,... Read more
Published on June 13, 2011 by thoreau
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exposing the bias
I could not put my finger on what was wrong with the thesis of The Spirit Level but I felt uncomfortable. Read more
Published on May 15, 2011 by Skeptic
5.0 out of 5 stars
A careful analysis of the data
There aren't many people who take the time to do proper research on these issues rather than just spouting off. Snowdon is one of the careful ones. Read more
Published on April 20, 2011 by James P. McEvoy
2.0 out of 5 stars
Playing with stats
Um. I recommend this book to anyone studying for a career in public relations and I recommend The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger for anyone who isn't.
Published on October 6, 2010 by Anagnostic
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Valuable Corrective to the Spirit Level Sleight of Hand
In March 2010 I attended a University College London seminar entitled 'Why are more unequal societies socially dysfunctional? Darwinian insights'. Read more
Published on October 4, 2010 by Geoff Bond
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