Quote Originally Posted by Gandalf View Post
My issue is with equality of opportunity which on the whole I don't think that exists to a sufficient degree. If you are the average child of a rich person you have more opportunities than the average child of less well off parents. The statistics exist and show that children from less well off backgrounds tend to struggle in ways that wealthier offspring won't. Children of poor origins have a harder time making a fair go of things. These things are not absolute and exceptions will always exist, but the trends are there. If you are better off higher connections are more easily made and you get ahead plus a decent allowance from Daddy. If you don't have the smarts to use the system then you will most typically get a job that won't help you get ahead materially. And like Beanz says, there are valuable jobs where workers really are not valued enough. You will never see Paris Hilton washing old people and that is more significant than anything she has done in her life.

My concern is that the means of creating equality of opportunity is being dismantled and the idelogical belief in fighting for that is in some ways being decimated. Investment in public schools in the UK is lagging behind in real terms and thus if you are being privately educated and have a place in public school then you have it all in your court from day one. It is yours to screw up in that situation, whilst you are half screwed already in the former.


Miles, I think if you look at the short term you are probably right. Equally qualified children from wealthy parents and from less well off parents..... the wealthy ones get most of the breaks to start off. But look at it as a marathon. Eventually, the "wealthy children" advantage wears off and you're left to fend for yourself and on your own. Many times these kids are ill equipped to handle life's "curveballs", and sometimes fall flat on their faces. Children from struggling or less well off parents, on the other hand, learn how to adjust to life and overcome its hurdles. In the long run, they become better professionals, better people, better parents, etc.

I've seen this enough times to believe that it is more common than one might think.