The Spirit Level denialists: like Climate Change denialists?

I had hoped that this book would help us get beyond left and right in issues to do with social well-being. However, the power of vested interests and certain kinds of ideology would make it not so. The Spirit Level: how 'ideas wreckers' turned book into political punchbag | Books | The Guardian: "'Do they even believe what they are saying?' he said today. 'I suppose it doesn't matter if their claims are right or wrong; it is about sowing doubt in people's minds.' The authors fear the attacks have scuppered any chance of removing the inequality debate 'from the left wing ghetto'. Wilkinson said: 'It is now something for the left and we would rather have avoided that. People on the right will feel relieved knowing they don't have to treat this seriously and will be happy to know it has been rubbished.'"
But the wreckers might well, then, the equivalent of those whe are paid by certain vested interests to knock the evidence for climate change. The introduction of forceful denial need not be true, it just creates enough doubt for the Powers that Be to make a case for business as usual.

So what's the book actually saying? The article offers a synopsis.

...most of the important health and social problems of the rich world are more common in unequal societies. Using data from 23 rich countries and 50 US states, they found problems are anything from three to 10 times as common in more unequal societies. ... A key explanation is the psychological impact of inequality which, they say, causes stress and anxiety. ... The way parents react to relative poverty also affects the way they treat their children, affecting education. Violence rises in more unequal societies too. ... "The association between inequality and violence is strong and consistent. The evolutionary importance of shame and humiliation provides a plausible explanation of why more unequal societies suffer more violence." Suicide is the only social ill that increases in more equal societies, ... the evidence shows that all levels of society benefit from more equality, not just the poorest. On health, "... it's better to live in a more equal place". Whether rich or poor, ... the most profound conclusion is that economic growth among rich countries has finished its work because it is no longer increasing life expectancy and the only way to do that is to better share the wealth we have.

That's was why the Cameroons were talking big society; it remains to be seen whether they will keep their nerve to resist the equality denialists.
Oh, and here's the Spirit Level's authors' riposte ...