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[...] If there is causality here, it is not from high benefits to low work commitment. It could, however, go the other way. Perhaps because we believe we are lazy and do not seem to enjoy our jobs much, we may also believe we have to keep benefits down. The solution to this, however, surely lies el…

It maybe should not be a surprise that there is a symbiotic relationship between high inequality in a society and low social mobility. In a highly unequal society, many advantaged parents will do all they can to ensure that their children do not slip down the economic ladder--they know that it goes…

What is often forgotten is that Michael Young's 1958 book, The rise of the meritocracy, which introduced the word, was a satire, not a blue print. Its point was the smugness of those who rose to the top of such a society and believed not only that they deserved whatever rewards flowed from that, …

[...] there are lots of things that money can buy, such as:

• high-quality pre-school care
• houses in the catchment areas of the best-regarded state schools (which then command a significant premium)
• after-school activities, private tutors, etc
• private schooling
• parental support in …

Nearly all political parties across the spectrum aspire to the idea that there should be 'equality of opportunity'. What people mean by equality of opportunity varies, however, sometimes concentrating on relative chances of ending up at the top or bottom of a social or economic ladder, sometimes on…