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Danny Dorling, University of Sheffield
Given at the London School of Economics, 17th^ November, 2010
Injustice
A year on.
- The five original arguments of the book (the views of many of those in power).
- What has occurred in each area in the 12 months since final proofs checked.
- What appear likely to occur in the near future in Britain if left unchecked.
First a note on what inspired the book – which was changed greatly due to reading a draft of Kate Pickett and Richard Wilkinson‟s “Spirit Level” (2009)
Elitism is
efficient
New social evil 1:
“Just a few children are able
enough to be
fully educated; the rest must be
led”.
Source: A Tale of Two Cities The Sheffield Project
Exclusion is
necessary
New social evil 2:
“The poor will always be with
us, no matter how rich we are;
we need to teach
them to be better poor parents”.
A poster drawn by Stephen Rose using 2005 income and wealth data. Inset below is of poorest pensioners
Prejudice is
natural
New social evil 3:
“Other people are
naturally, perhaps genetically inferior
to those who have
done best; many young people are
not worth a wage (while a few others
are worth millions)”.
The last time a million people aged
under 25 were unemployed was 1984
Source:
New Social Atlas
http://www.sasi.g roup.shef.ac.uk/p ublications/new_ social_atlas/chap ter3.pdf
Greed is
good
New social evil 4:
“The greed of the
rich is helping
humanity as much
as it can be helped;
we need that greed”.
Inequality and waste
Japan
Germany France
Spain UK
USA
Inequality
Singapore
Municipal waste collected (kg per capita per year)
Source: www.shef.ac.uk/sasi - see presentations: is more equal more green
Despair is
inevitable
New social evil 5: “To argue against
mass marketisation
is foolhardy; there is no alternative; mass
poor mental health
is unfortunate but inevitable”. Offer
palliative therapy…
“When I‟m worried about something I can talk to my mum or dad”
“When I‟m worried about something I can talk to my friends”
“When I‟m worried about something I can talk to an adult other than my
mum or dad”. Children who answered „yes‟ to at least 2 of these 3:
GOR
Emotional health of children 2008/
Emotional health of children 2009/10 change
North East 63.6 56.7 -6.
North West 65.0 58.6 -6.
Yorkshire and The Humber 64.3 57.3 -7.
Sheffield East Midlands
West Midlands 63.6 57.8 -5.
East of England 61.6 56.0 -5.
London 60.2 53.2 -7.
South East 61.6 54.8 -6.
South West 62.7 56.2 -6.
England 62.6 56.0 -6.
Source: “Tell US” Survey – cancelled 2010
A year on. All the arrows up
"1931"
16%
18%
20%
22%
24%
26%
28%
30%
32%
0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 16% 18% 20%
Inequality, in survival chances to age 65 in Britain, 1918-2005+ [BMJ]
Income inequality (X axis) verses Health inequalities (Y axis) in Britain, 1918-
Income Inequality, share held by richest 1%, 1918-2005+
Electoral Inequality, Segregation Index of Tory voters, 1918-2005+ Sources: „Injustice‟ Chapter 5
? ESA
Prejudice is
natural
In November 2010: “Barclays
£2.2bn of bonuses on track
to beat 2009” [TELEGRAPH] See:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysecto r/banksandfinance/8120848/Barclays-2.2bn-of- bonuses-on-track-to-beat-2009.html While poor to be made to do “Community Service”
for the dole… See: “Sinister government policy is treating jobless like criminals”, The Inverness Courier, http://www.inverness- courier.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/13831/Sinister_government_policy_is _treating_jobless_like_criminals.html
In September 2010
we learn that “Bob
Diamond
collected a 'mere'
£42 million last
year” in
income, and
bankers are still
loathed [DAILY
MAIL] see: “Rambler
with an interest in Bible studies is the City's highest earner on £60m a year” 27/9/2010: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ article-1315366/David-Harding- Citys-highest-earner-60m- year.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
Exclusion is necessary
In June 2010 Frank Field is appointed because he calls a
mean a median: “Had I been asked, I would have argued for a target that was achievable. The 2020 goal isn’t. Any candidate sitting GCSE maths should be able to explain that raising everybody above a set percentage of median income is rather like asking a cat to catch its own tail. As families are raised above the target level of income, the median point itself rises. Not surprisingly, therefore, no country in the free world has managed to achieve this objective, not even those Scandinavian countries whose social models many of us admire.” see: “ Poverty is about much more than money” by Frank in „The Telegraph‟ 5/6/2010: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/conservative /7803983/Poverty-is-about-much-more-than- money.html#disqus_thread”
In January 2010
we learnt that for
the first time we
know the the best
of 10th^ of
Londoners have
at least 270 time
the wealth of the
poorest” [HILLS]
see: BBC “Rich-poor divide 'wider than 40 years ago' The gap between rich and poor in the UK is wider now than 40 years ago, a government-commissioned report says.” 27/1/2010: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/ 4.stm
