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The Broken Ladder
- How Inequality Affects the Way We Think, Live, and Die
- Narrated by: James Foster
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
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Publisher's summary
A timely examination by a leading scientist of the physical, psychological, and moral effects of inequality.
Today's inequality is on a scale that none of us has seen in our lifetimes, yet this disparity between rich and poor has ramifications that extend far beyond mere financial means. In The Broken Ladder, psychologist Keith Payne examines how inequality divides us not just economically, but also has profound consequences for how we think, how our cardiovascular systems respond to stress, how our immune systems function, and how we view moral ideas such as justice and fairness.
Experiments in psychology, neuroscience, and behavioral economics have not only revealed important new insights on how inequality changes people in predictable ways, but have also provided a corrective to our flawed way of viewing poverty as the result of individual character failings. Among modern developed societies, economic inequality is not primarily about money, but rather about relative status: where we stand in relation to other people. Regardless of their average income, countries or states with greater levels of income inequality have much higher rates of all the social problems we associate with poverty, including lower average life expectancies, serious health issues, mental illness, and crime.
The Broken Ladder explores such issues as why women in poor societies often have more children, and have them younger; why there is little trust among the working class that investing for the future will pay off; why people's perception of their relative social status affects their political beliefs, and why growing inequality leads to greater political divisions; how poverty raises stress levels in the same way as a physical threat; inequality in the workplace and how it affects performance; why unequal societies become more religious; and finally offers measures people can take to lessen the harm done by inequality in their own lives and the lives of their children.
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- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Why do three out of four professional football players go bankrupt? How can illiterate jungle dwellers pass a test that tricks Harvard philosophers? And why do billionaires work so hard - only to give their hard-earned money away? When it comes to making decisions, the classic view is that humans are eminently rational. But growing evidence suggests instead that our choices are often irrational, biased, and occasionally even moronic. Which view is right - or is there another possibility?
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Good book
- By Justin on 02-17-17
By: Douglas T. Kenrick, and others
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Bozo Sapiens
- Why to Err Is Human
- By: Michael Kaplan, Ellen Kaplan
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Our species, it appears, is hardwired to get things wrong in myriad different ways. Why did recipients of a loan offer accept a higher rate of interest when a pretty woman's face was printed on the flyer? Why did one poll on immigration find the most despised aliens were ones from a group that did not exist? What made four of the Air Force's best pilots fly their planes, in formation, straight into the ground?
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A tour de force
- By Ivan on 07-05-11
By: Michael Kaplan, and others
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Moral Tribes
- Emotion, Reason, and the Gap Between Us and Them
- By: Joshua Greene
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 14 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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A pathbreaking neuroscientist reveals how our social instincts turn Me into Us, but turn Us against Them - and what we can do about it. The great dilemma of our shrinking world is simple: never before have those we disagree with been so present in our lives. The more globalization dissolves national borders, the more clearly we see that human beings are deeply divided on moral lines - about everything from tax codes to sexual practices to energy consumption - and that, when we really disagree, our emotions turn positively tribal.
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Good Science, Bad Philosophy
- By Jacob on 10-27-16
By: Joshua Greene
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The Why Axis
- Hidden Motives and the Undiscovered Economics of Everyday Life
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- Narrated by: Eric Martin
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
Uri Gneezy and John List are like the anthropologists who spend months in the field studying the people in their native habitats. But in their case they embed themselves in our messy world to try and solve big, difficult problems, such as the gap between rich and poor students and the violence plaguing inner city schools; the real reasons people discriminate; whether women are really less competitive than men; and how to correctly price products and services. Their field experiments show how economic incentives can change outcomes.
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Some Interesting Insights But Poor Science
- By Harold Toomey on 06-09-23
By: Uri Gneezy, and others
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The Upside of Irrationality
- The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home
- By: Dan Ariely
- Narrated by: Simon Jones
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In his groundbreaking book Predictably Irrational, social scientist Dan Ariely revealed the multiple biases that lead us into making unwise decisions. Now, in The Upside of Irrationality, he exposes the surprising negative and positive effects irrationality can have on our lives. Focusing on our behaviors at work and in relationships, he offers new insights and eye-opening truths about what really motivates us on the job.
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Not as good as the first
- By Stephen on 06-20-10
By: Dan Ariely
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Cool
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- By: Steven Quartz, Anette Asp
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 10 hrs
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In Cool, the neuroscientist and philosopher Steven Quartz and the political scientist Anette Asp bring together the latest findings in brain science, economics, and evolutionary biology to form a provocative theory of consumerism, revealing how the brain's "social calculator" and an instinct to rebel are the crucial missing links in understanding the motivations behind our spending habits.
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Some Useful Ideas
- By Carson on 07-20-17
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The Spirit Level
- Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger
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Renowned researchers Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett offer groundbreaking analysis showing that greater economic equality-not greater wealth-is the mark of the most successful societies, and offer new ways to achieve it.
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An Important Book
- By Stephen Schoenberg on 12-19-11
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The Conservative Heart
- How to Build a Fairer, Happier, and More Prosperous America
- By: Arthur C. Brooks
- Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
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In The Conservative Heart, Arthur C. Brooks contends that after years of focusing on economic growth and traditional social values, it is time for a new kind of conservatism - one that helps the vulnerable without mortgaging our children's future. In Brooks' daring vision, this conservative movement fights poverty, promotes equal opportunity, celebrates earned success, and values spiritual enlightenment. It is an inclusive movement with a positive agenda to help people lead happier, more hopeful, and more satisfied lives.
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Outstanding recitation of conservatism!
- By GLENNO on 08-06-15
By: Arthur C. Brooks
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Willful Blindness
- Why We Ignore the Obvious at Our Peril
- By: Margaret Heffernan
- Narrated by: Margaret Heffernan
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
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Performance
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Margaret Heffernan argues that the biggest threats and dangers we face are the ones we don't see - not because they're secret or invisible, but because we're willfully blind. A distinguished businesswoman and writer, she examines the phenomenon and traces its imprint in our private and working lives, and within governments and organizations, and asks: What makes us prefer ignorance? What are we so afraid of? Why do some people see more than others? And how can we change?
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How Not to Be the Blind Leading the Blind
- By Cynthia on 06-29-13
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Blindspot
- By: Mahzarin R. Banaji, Anthony G. Greenwald
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
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I know my own mind. I am able to assess others in a fair and accurate way. These self-perceptions are challenged by leading psychologists Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald as they explore the hidden biases we all carry from a lifetime of exposure to cultural attitudes about age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, social class, sexuality, disability status, and nationality. Blindspot is the authors’ metaphor for the portion of the mind that houses hidden biases.
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Difficult to interpret.
- By Ryan Arnold on 12-21-15
By: Mahzarin R. Banaji, and others
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Sway
- The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior
- By: Rom Brafman, Ori Brafman
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- Length: 4 hrs and 52 mins
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A Harvard Business School student pays over $200 for a $20 bill. Washington, D.C., commuters ignore a free subway concert by a violin prodigy. A veteran airline pilot attempts to take off without control-tower clearance and collides with another plane on the runway. Why do we do the wildly irrational things we sometimes do?
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Disappointing book
- By Martin Proulx on 12-10-08
By: Rom Brafman, and others
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What listeners say about The Broken Ladder
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Charles Gust
- 09-19-19
Changes perception of poverty and inequality
After listening to this book, I have a greater appreciation of what the social problem of inequality is, as opposed to merely the social problem of poverty. The author does a great job distinguishing the two, and describes political sides but doesn't take one because addressing inequality doesn't fit traditional molds. It was also helpful to hear about the different decision processes that high status and low status individuals employ. I am not a social scientist, but the author did a good job of citing social science experiments that support his assertions. I came away with the opinion that we would have a stronger, more united country if we had some policies to address inequality.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Lady Lochaber
- 12-09-23
Interesting and approachable
Well explained and easy to follow book on our relationships and where we see ourselves and others. Highly recommend!
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- David Larson
- 07-03-17
amazing book. changed my thinking about poverty.
wow this one needs to be read by everyone. I am a conservative and this book showed me several areas where I have been mistaken in my thinking.
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13 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 12-20-20
A MUST READ FOR ASPIRING POLITICIANS
The reading of this book was straightforward and emotional at the same time. It seemed as if the narrator was the author. If you have a question about how this great nation became the broken husk of democracy that we are today..this book will enlighten you. It explained so much about my life and community growing up that I had wondered about. I sincerely believe this should be read to high school students.
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- Kate
- 05-28-19
Loved it
This book had everything! Socioeconomic statistics, psychological biases, neuroscience, inequality, human behavior. Fascinating and effective.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Dustin
- 10-14-19
Evidence Based & Relatable Read
Great evidence based commentary on inequality. I appreciate that the author cited studies to support the rationales.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Taryenna Dickerson
- 02-27-22
great content
Very straightforward and clear on topics that are routinely ignored or not considered even if observed.
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- Laurie Higgins
- 02-19-19
Very Insightful
Everyone should read this book. It’s insightful but backed up by science. So much of what we do, choose to do, and what happens too is is related to income inequality, that it is mind boggling!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Mavallo
- 02-21-19
Great insight into human behavior
Excellent easy to understand an easy to relate to studies and explanations of human behavior
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1 person found this helpful
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- Frankie Skinner
- 08-06-19
Insightful and Unbiased
I had to read this for college, so I wasn’t exactly looking forward to spending time when I could be reading other books. However, the contents of the book gave me a new perspective and brought things to my attention that I hadn’t considered before. The only bad thing is that the physical copy as some visual aids that can’t be translated into audio, so you may still want to pick up the actual book to get the full experience.
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3 people found this helpful