http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-the-class-struggle-is-over-its-all-about-social-mobility-925519.html *Leading article: The class struggle is over, it's all about social mobility *
Let no one underestimate the political shrewdness of Harriet Harman. Although she eventually dropped the "c" word itself from her address to the Trades Union Conference yesterday, the speech of Labour's Deputy Leader was trailed in advance as an attack on the British class system. A more blatant exercise of pandering to the Labour gallery it would be hard to imagine. It would seem that Ms Harman has not given up on her leadership ambitions after all. This was just the thing to butter up the brothers, disappointed by the refusal of ministers to deliver a windfall tax on the energy companies. And it is just the thing too to give Ms Harman a bit of momentum in the event of a leadership election in her party. But although it was undeniably clever politics, it was a flawed analysis of the state of the country. Britain is simply no longer the sort of class-divided country that Ms Harman paints. We live in a much more socially mobile society than in the heyday of the political "class struggle". An individual's accent, or the reputation of their alma mater, are not the barriers to economic achievement and social prestige that they still were 20 or 30 years ago. Certainly, there remain vestiges of such old-fashioned snobbery and discrimination, but the truth is that Ms Harman is fighting a battle that was largely won in the 20th century, thanks to progressive taxation, the widening intake of higher education and rising general prosperity. Y*et that is not to say that there are no barriers to talented and hardworking individuals fulfilling their potential today. Those who belong to ethnic minorities still face discrimination in the job market, as do women. But the country's biggest social blight today is an entrenched group of families and individuals at the bottom of the social pile who are failing to participate in the economic opportunities available in modern Britain.* *Generations are being brought up on sink estates mired in welfare dependency, drug abuse and a culture of joblessness. And the majority of children born in such wretched circumstances are simply not making it out later in life. This is not a class problem; it is an underclass problem. And it is the failure of these sections of society to get on that is responsible for the fact that social mobility is in decline. According to a recent study by the London School of Economics, inter-generational social mobility in Britain is, quite scandalously, the lowest in the developed world.* *This is a complex issue, and a whole host of factors are involved, ranging from disincentives in the welfare system to poverty of aspiration. But one of the most significant factors behind the division of Britain into two nations (one able to thrive and the other perennially disadvantaged) is our deficient state education system. Good schools have historically been conveyor belts for bright and able children to improve their circumstances in life. Far too many schools around the country, for a variety of reasons, are failing to provide children with the life chances they need.* If Gordon Brown is dissatisfied with his government's record on social mobility, as he wrote this week, the first area to which he should turn his attention to is the education system. And rather than attempting to revive tired old ideological battles, Ms Harman ought to join him --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
