Little Nudges
　　So what can we do? It seems/that the situation is out of control/and there is nothing we can do about it. But, in fact,/laboratory research has been finding/that small nudges in certain directions,/small changes in people’s values,/can restore levels of empathy. Reminding people of the benefits of cooperation,/or the advantages of community,/can lead wealthier individuals to be just as generous and empathetic/as poor people.
　　In one study,/people were asked to watch a short video about childhood poverty/that served as a reminder of the needs of others. After watching the video,/researchers looked at how willing people were/to help a stranger. Rich people/became just as generous and willing to help out a stranger/as poor people. This finding suggests/that these differences in empathy and fellow feeling are not innate/but are easily influenced/by slight changes in people’s values/and by little nudges toward compassion and empathy.
　　Beyond the walls of his lab,/Piff feels he is beginning to see signs of change in society. Bill Gates,/one of the world’s wealthiest people,/has called inequality the greatest challenge of our time. He has talked about what must be done to combat it,/saying,/“Humanity’s greatest advances are not in its discoveries/—but in how those discoveries are applied to reduce inequity.” And there’s the Giving Pledge,/in which more than 100 of America’s wealthiest people are pledging/half of their fortunes to charity. They are using their own economic resources/to combat inequality. In the end,/they hope to restore people’s faith/that hard work and honesty will lead to a better life/for themselves and their children.