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The Good Society and How We Make It
A fairer, healthier, more caring and sustainable society is entirely within our grasp. The renowned co-author of The Spirit Level shows us the way.
'Just what these times are crying out for’ KATE RAWORTH, author of Doughnut Economics
'Poverty and inequality are at the heart of all our problems. Kate Pickett's book shows how tackling them must be at the heart of our solutions too' ZACK POLANSKI
'An uplifting vision for solving inequality that benefits everyone' ANDY BURNHAM
• How do we ensure that everyone has good health and receives the care they need?
• How do we provide education that allows every child to flourish?
• How do we ensure safety, justice and a sustainable environment for all?
Kate Pickett is a world-leading social scientist whose life’s work has been to identify the underlying causes of society’s most important problems – and the long-term solutions that will actually work.
In this inspiring book, she shows that to make a good society – in which everyone has what they need to be well, and everyone would be better off – we must prioritise the health, care, education and rehabilitation of those who have the least and suffer the most. This means confronting once and for all the fundamental problems of poverty and inequality that lie behind all the others.
Drawing on over three decades of evidence, and an array of proven solutions and real-world success stories from across the globe, The Good Society cuts to the essence of the challenges we face and presents us with a practical, galvanising, perspective-shifting vision for how to tackle them.
'Just what these times are crying out for’ KATE RAWORTH, author of Doughnut Economics
'Poverty and inequality are at the heart of all our problems. Kate Pickett's book shows how tackling them must be at the heart of our solutions too' ZACK POLANSKI
'An uplifting vision for solving inequality that benefits everyone' ANDY BURNHAM
• How do we ensure that everyone has good health and receives the care they need?
• How do we provide education that allows every child to flourish?
• How do we ensure safety, justice and a sustainable environment for all?
Kate Pickett is a world-leading social scientist whose life’s work has been to identify the underlying causes of society’s most important problems – and the long-term solutions that will actually work.
In this inspiring book, she shows that to make a good society – in which everyone has what they need to be well, and everyone would be better off – we must prioritise the health, care, education and rehabilitation of those who have the least and suffer the most. This means confronting once and for all the fundamental problems of poverty and inequality that lie behind all the others.
Drawing on over three decades of evidence, and an array of proven solutions and real-world success stories from across the globe, The Good Society cuts to the essence of the challenges we face and presents us with a practical, galvanising, perspective-shifting vision for how to tackle them.
- GenresNonfiction
389 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 5, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 1, 2026
very informative, but sometimes cutting corners in the analysis, and some of the main themes are missing (e.g. housing). And it's only about the UK. Would the same amount of public funds still be available if, first, the UK had made proper reparations for colonial harms, and we also lived in a world with fair global economic structures? If that's not possible, then even this utopian British good society will remain parasitic on unfair trade relations and extractivism from the Global South. (NB: this is a general problem with most (semi-)academic books that discuss better policies in Europe/the USA/Canada/Australia etc.)
June 17, 2026
An interesting and accessible read, well written despite the complexity of some of the material. I think, above all, there is the obvious practical intelligence of the writer which shines through.
God knows, practical solutions to practical human problems seem to be something that gets talked about, and talked about and........ But this book feels grounded in the practical, possibly even workable solutions.
A lot to take in initially but comes good and positive in the second section when practical solutions are suggested. Definitely a practical book too, however academic some of the information and evidence is.
Thank you, Kate Pickett for being a good guide through all these issues and actually suggesting intelligent and understandable solutions.
Surprisingly, this book made me feel quite positive. Here's hoping......
God knows, practical solutions to practical human problems seem to be something that gets talked about, and talked about and........ But this book feels grounded in the practical, possibly even workable solutions.
A lot to take in initially but comes good and positive in the second section when practical solutions are suggested. Definitely a practical book too, however academic some of the information and evidence is.
Thank you, Kate Pickett for being a good guide through all these issues and actually suggesting intelligent and understandable solutions.
Surprisingly, this book made me feel quite positive. Here's hoping......
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews