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Wilkinson talked about how the prevalence of luxury sports cars in Metro Vancouver and elsewhere can be excruciating for those who witness them.

“There are studies that show that people in more unequal areas are more likely to spend money on flashy stuff, particularly flashy-looking cars,” Wilkinson said, noting supercars are few and far between in his hometown, located two hours north of London.

“I remember reading how sports cars are a bit of a nuisance, because you can’t park them by the side of the road because people deliberately scratch them. That shows resentment.”

The perception of extreme inequality that goes along with everything from high-end cars to glittering jewellery outlets to overbuilt mansions, Wilkinson said, can cause people to feel inferior and lack in confidence, which can lead them to withdraw and feel depressed.

“However, others, as we argue in the book, pick themselves up. For their own self-advancement they start to flaunt their professional achievements, instead of being modest about them,” said the expert in the so-called social determinants of health.

“If you’re worried about how you’re seen and judged in terms of status, then you either feel overcome with insecure self-worth or you respond the opposite way and try to show yourself off in a very positive light, like by buying expensive cars.”

Narcissism levels rise in unequal societies, says Wilkinson, yet low self-esteem is more likely, including feeling compelled to self-medicate with alcohol and drugs. Which makes one wonder whether it’s more than a coincidence that Metro Vancouver is one of the centres of the opioid crisis. The city accounts for more than its share of the 2.5 people in the province dying each day of overdoses, four out of five being men.