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Why are most prominent lefties middle-class and public school educated?

It seems that all the prominent lefties, from notable Guardian columnists to politicians, are middle-class, public school educated and often Oxbridge educated.

I can barely think of any prominent lefties in the media and politics who are genuine working people. Where is the former checkout assistant now writing for the Guardian? Where is degree-less former cleaner in the Shadow Labour Cabinet? Even if these people do exist, they are few and far between.

With this in mind, can the British left honestly say it represents, or even understands, the working man or woman?

Is this also why UKIP are stealing a lot of the working class vote? In upmarket Islington it's a probably a major faux pas to talk negatively of immigration over brunch. However, in working class communities people are feeling the strain of immigration and, perhaps in a misguided way, feel that UKIP understands them.
(edited 8 years ago)

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In order to lead the masses.
Why does it matter if they were educated in public schools? If they attended Oxbridge, then they are usually much better suited for being in thought-provoking jobs than someone who has not attended university.
Because they've had a safety net all their lives and haven't really worked hard for anything.

I recently had the misfortune to attend a workshop frequented by a Green Party society, filled with people talking about how bad capitalism is and how zero hour contracts are evil- none of them worked and all had the latest iPhones.
This could also demonstrate how the system is detrimental to working people and helps the privileged, but that there are some privileged people who feel this is wrong and want to try and open it up.
Because leftism is very good for rich people, they get loads of migrants to work the ****ty jobs for them for almost nothing, cheap restaurants, the welfare state keeps the general public lazy and stupid but happily ignorant, encouragement of feminism and gay culture helps destroy the family unit, which makes the public even more dependent on the government. All the while they sit in there in their pretty areas telling us immigration isn't a problem and that is OUR fault that jobs, schooling and healthcare is being overwhelmed by irresponsible immigration policy, while the working class people are being pushed out of their areas by foreign cultures which are not compatible with the natives.
Reply 6
It seems as though most prominent politicians have this background regardless of their position on the political spectrum. Not sure you're really on to anything here for that reason, sorry.

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Because they like policies where an elite regulates and controls.
Reply 8
Champagne Socialists are people who match this description perfectly. It's only when you become rich off the system that you then care about working-class people (or say you do). By your own logic you shouldn't be rich as that's taking advantage of others.

At least Tory politicians are honest.
Original post by Davij038
Because they've had a safety net all their lives and haven't really worked hard for anything.

I recently had the misfortune to attend a workshop frequented by a Green Party society, filled with people talking about how bad capitalism is and how zero hour contracts are evil- none of them worked and all had the latest iPhones.


Nail meet head.

Another point to add is that it's all well and good to call for a saturation of the workforce for often working class jobs like trades when it's not yours or your parents' labour having their wages driven down.

Most of these people haven't got the every-day experiences of the working man yet they tell them how to think. You upset that your wages are driven down? You're a racist. You upset that your kid is in a primary school class where the majpority have English as a second language which slows down the learning? You're a racist.

For them immigration is when your immigrant neighbour is a privately-educated doctor, you pay less for a Polish plumber and you can have a nice choice of takeaways. It's not about the wages, it's not about your kids' schools etc etc etc.

It really grates but most lefties are also very arrogant know it alls so they don't see it and they refuse to learn. Have them live in Luton for a year.

I say all this an immigrant btw.
(edited 8 years ago)
I'll add one more thing. The best indicator of the reality of the left wing is the fact that Ronald Reagan is so hugely popular in the Old Soviet Bloc that there are statues of him in places like Budapest.

Also, many of these white middle-class lefties love to talk about how we must emulate places like Venezuela. But if they actually knew people from these countries they'd realise how awful they are.....nearly always due to government greed which makes our governments look like Che Guevara
Many of them may have had parents from working class backgrounds?
Because we have a system that inherently benefits those from comfortable middle class backgrounds.
Original post by KimKallstrom


Another point to add is that it's all well and good to call for a saturation of the workforce for often working class jobs like trades when it's not yours or your parents' labour having their wages driven down.


But thats the very point of capitalism: Competition. Why are people complaining that the polish took all their jobs? Because they'll 9/10 work harder, hence why that Ukip hotel owner made these remarks:

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/ukip-candidate-launches-insulting-attack-4699078

The real reason for low wages is the fundamental workings of the free market- so as I said competition but also the freedom for the wealthy to spend the money how they want- IE UKIPs Millionaire donor just blew a million quid sponsoring UKIP- his staff havent had a pay rise for 7 years. Its actually places like Venzuala which you mention that reduce immigration to enforce higher pay and get the state to intervene in the economy- which is why its the state its in.


Most of these people haven't got the every-day experiences of the working man yet they tell them how to think. You upset that your wages are driven down? You're a racist. You upset that your kid is in a primary school class where the majpority have English as a second language which slows down the learning? You're a racist.

For them immigration is when your immigrant neighbour is a privately-educated doctor, you pay less for a Polish plumber and you can have a nice choice of takeaways. It's not about the wages, it's not about your kids' schools etc etc etc.

It really grates but most lefties are also very arrogant know it alls so they don't see it and they refuse to learn. Have them live in Luton for a year.

I say all this an immigrant btw.


Dont get me wrong, theres been a massive problem with Immigration- pretty much entirely labours fault I should add, but immigrants, particularly those from the EU have been proven to be a net contributing factor to the british economy and with the long term economic and strategic factors involved are well worth the added strain on public resources- which needs to be countered chiefly by decentralization. It just so happens immigrants go where theres work (EU migrants can get kicked out if theyre unemployed)- By devolving powers to specific regions will create huge levels of investment and jobs and will help immigartion to disperse, thus helping the strain.

In some ways I'm an old school Libertarian (Not Farage's pseudo tea party rubbish) in that I see most ukippers as being 'left' in the sense that they want to blame the state for their own problems: IE if only they'd crack down on immigrants I'd get paid so much more. In my view this takes away responsibility which for me is what being right wing is about.

I'm saying this as somebody who was previously a middle class lefty whose parents got broke and had to work his way out of poverty- doing the jobs which immigrants do and working my way up.
Original post by Davij038
But thats the very point of capitalism: Competition. Why are people complaining that the polish took all their jobs? Because they'll 9/10 work harder, hence why that Ukip hotel owner made these remarks:

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/ukip-candidate-launches-insulting-attack-4699078

The real reason for low wages is the fundamental workings of the free market- so as I said competition but also the freedom for the wealthy to spend the money how they want- IE UKIPs Millionaire donor just blew a million quid sponsoring UKIP- his staff havent had a pay rise for 7 years. Its actually places like Venzuala which you mention that reduce immigration to enforce higher pay and get the state to intervene in the economy- which is why its the state its in.
The evidence is actually that immigration has little or no effect on wages, since workers also increase the demand for labour, by spending their money on goods and services produced by other workers.

The view you hold - that immigration suppresses wages and/or increases unemployment - is very common though. It's difficult to explain then why left wing parties support it and right wing parties oppose it. Surely it should be the other way around?
Original post by Observatory
The evidence is actually that immigration has little or no effect on wages, since workers also increase the demand for labour, by spending their money on goods and services produced by other workers.


Source? But that doesn't surprise me at all.


The view you hold - that immigration suppresses wages and/or increases unemployment - is very common though. It's difficult to explain then why left wing parties support it and right wing parties oppose it. Surely it should be the other way around?


It's complicated- basically right wing economics encourages cheap labour whereas say a socialist position advocates higher wages. What we see is that basically the right won the economic arguments of the 20th century (free trade ) and the liberals ( both left and right) won the social arguments (human rights, welfare state, ) the governments of Thatcher and Blair epitomise this.

The problem is we still have people who lost the argument still fighting so social conservatives (harsh on crime, anti migration) and economic alternatives (various forms of state control over trade) still linger, generally because of the inevitable crashes of capitalism.

I should add that I think that broadly speaking free trade capitalism despite its baggage is vastly superior to all other economic models and it is why centrist liberals are hated by communists and fascists alike, and will even work together to destroy it.
Reply 16
Original post by Lady Comstock

I can barely think of any prominent lefties in the media and politics who are genuine working people. Where is the former checkout assistant now writing for the Guardian? Where is degree-less former cleaner in the Shadow Labour Cabinet? Even if these people do exist, they are few and far between.



Getting a top job in politics requires very high intellect - unlikely that someone working at checkouts or as a cleaner could cut the mustard. Private education is irrelevant, many lefties went to good grammar schools.
Original post by ModYom
Getting a top job in politics requires very high intellect - unlikely that someone working at checkouts or as a cleaner could cut the mustard. Private education is irrelevant, many lefties went to good grammar schools.


Wow big assumption that a checkout person or cleaner lacks the the inherent intelligence to be a politician.
Reply 18
it could be possible, but percentage wise would be more rational to oppose
Original post by Lady Comstock

With this in mind, can the British left honestly say it represents, or even understands, the working man or woman?

Is this also why UKIP are stealing a lot of the working class vote? In upmarket Islington it's a probably a major faux pas to talk negatively of immigration over brunch. However, in working class communities people are feeling the strain of immigration and, perhaps in a misguided way, feel that UKIP understands them.


Nigel Farage, Douglas Carswell and Mark Reckless all went to expensive public schools so how on earth they can say they represent or understand working people is beyond me...

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