In an independent report by Doctor Betham Thomas, UK Social Atlas, it states that British society is becoming more and more segregated into classes, and British people are becoming more and more conscious of the class society in which we live. The report ‘finds’ that Britain is becoming increasingly segregated along the lines of class, education, income, occupation, health status and family type.
This report unsurprisingly found that rich kids stay away from the poorer ones, they live in their mansions and visit each other rather than associating with those from poorer classes. The upper classes in British society are likely to inherit at least 40 times the amount the poorer elements of society will inherit, confirming that class privilege remains something that passes from one generation to the next.
16 to 24 year olds in Britain in some areas are much more likely to go to an elite college then those living in poorer areas. In many areas of Britain poorer young adults are almost 20 times less likely to be in employment, education or training then those in the wealthiest neighbourhoods of Britain . This puts pay to the idea of a society of equal opportunities.
So as we can see, this report reaffirms what we have known all the time that Britain is a class society. The myth of the end of class in Britain remains nothing more then a lie sprouted up by the ruling class and their media outlets.
Workers and youth in general have begun to see that the interest’s of the bosses and the interests of the workers are not the same and are in fact opposed to one another. Take for example, the upcoming strikes in the public sector due to the 2% "pay rise", which is, in fact below inflation, thus making it actually a pay cut. Recent years have seen time and time again a rise in annual working days lost to strikes as the working class becomes more conscious of its own interests. The NUS has also seen a mood of militancy piercing through its bureaucracy, such as movements against top up fees.
We must fight for a radical transformation of society, for it to be run on a socialist basis; by the working class in the interests of the working class. This is the only way we can get rid of the huge divide in society between the rich and poor. In a socialist society the vast wealth of society would be spent in the interests of the vast majority of society as opposed to being geared towards the profit making of an elite few.
