ABSTRACT
In many societies the wealthier are also healthier. In response, the Marmot Review recommends the establishment in the UK of a Minimum Income for Healthy Living (MIHL) in order to secure its fourth policy objective, to ‘ensure a healthy standard of living for all’ (Marmot 2010: 9). The report goes on to recommend establishing a minimum income for healthy living (MIHL) and an overhaul of the welfare system to make it more progressive. One implication of Marmot’s recommendation is that the MIHL is not currently enjoyed by the poor in the UK. This is disputed:
Absolute poverty in the form of an inadequate diet, overcrowding, poor hygiene and lack of protection from the elements can harm the human organism and cause disease. Relative poverty cannot.
(Le Fanu 2011: 371)