The Myth of Meritocracy by James Bloodworth

Author:James Bloodworth [James Bloodworth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781785900761
Publisher: Biteback Publishing
Published: 2016-03-19T16:00:00+00:00

The strength of weak ties in contemporary Britain was reiterated in an analysis at the LSE of the recent Great British Class Survey. Those who worked in professional occupations were found to be far more likely to know others in similar occupations – and fewer people in working-class jobs. A similar pattern was apparent when researchers looked at the weak ties of manual workers. Analysing the data, the LSE’s Professor Savage concluded that, while social classes were less sealed off from one another than fifty years ago, ‘Poorer people know far fewer people in high-status jobs than do their better-off neighbours.’74

Beyond some dystopian regimentation of British society, it is hard to see how the power of these sorts of social networks could ever be completely diminished. In non-capitalist societies, patronage networks exercise an even greater influence on who fills desirable jobs and who gains access to the material rewards conferred on the elite. The best jobs invariably go to those with the best connections to the ruling party or dictator. Even in ostensibly progressive organisations here in Britain, networks often form on the basis of who exhibits the correct political ‘line’ on various ideological matters. It is hard to see this as an advance on the existing establishment networks of patronage.

There are of course things that governments and individual companies can do to negate the influence of networks. However, there is nothing – beyond solutions most of us would find unpalatable – that either government or private industry can do to completely eradicate them. Which is perhaps why a greater emphasis is usually placed by politicians on the state of Britain’s schools.

57 ‘How do childhood circumstances affect poverty and deprivation as an adult?’, Office for National Statistics, 23 September 2014, http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/household-income/intergenerational-transmission-of-poverty-in-the-uk---eu/2014/sty-causes-of-poverty-uk.html.

58 ‘Early education is better than ever but attainment gap remains’, Ofsted, 13 July 2015.

59 ‘Poorer children a year behind at start of school’, Sutton Trust, 1 February 2010.

60 ‘Early education is better than ever but attainment gap remains’, Ofsted, op. cit.

61 ‘Higher education: it’s good for you (and society)’, Jack Grove, Times Higher Education, 2 November 2013.

62 ‘Socio-economic differences in university outcomes in the UK: drop-out, degree completion and degree class’, Claire Crawford, Institute for Fiscal Studies, October 2014.

63 ‘Students from poorer backgrounds do less well at university’, Nuffield Foundation, 4 November 2014.

64 ‘The Proportion of Poorer Students Studying At UK’s Top Universities Has Fallen’, Lucy Sheriff, Huffington Post UK, 18 February 2016.

65 ‘State of the nation 2013: social mobility and child poverty in Great Britain’, Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, October 2013.

66 Social Class in the 21st Century, Professor Mike Savage, op. cit.

67 ‘You don’t need a posh name for Oxford or Cambridge, but it does help’, David McKie, The Guardian, 30 October 2013.

68 ‘Elitist Britain?’, Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, 28 August 2014.

69 ‘State of the nation 2013’, op. cit.

70 ‘Journalists at Work’, NCTJ, February 2013.

71 ‘Why journalism has become “most exclusive middle-class profession”’, Dominic Ponsford, Press Gazette, 20 July 2009.

72 ‘If You Want To Get Hired, Act Like Your Potential Boss’, Drake Baer, Business Insider, 29 May 2014.

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