It may seem unfair, but the conditions into which we are born largely determine the various courses that our lives take. The authors look to the social inequalities that arise from such circumstances - including those of class, gender, race, ethnicity, age, and sexual orientation. In doing so, they uncover the startling observation that in any given society these various manifestations of inequality show similar patterns, revealing a cultural predisposition (or "habit") that favours and promotes inequality.