Thought for the Week: Economic apartheid
Angela Kyte reflects on the dangers of retreating into enclaves of ‘our own kind’
Recent studies have shown that there are an increasing number of areas where to buy or rent anywhere to live it is necessary to have an income far in excess of average earnings. Does this matter? I think it does. All settlements – villages, towns, cities – have different areas within them that are broadly differentiated by the income of those living there. However, to have vast swathes of cities, or parts of the country, where this is the case is divisive and can lead to discord and civil unrest.
In 1988, a book called No Problem Here, by Chris Gaine, was published. It pointed out that racism was often entrenched and unchallenged in all-white areas where contact between people of differing races and colours was virtually non-existent. Similarly, if society becomes excessively stratified along economic divisions, this holds true for social class. It is far easier to drop into ideas of ‘them’ and ‘us’ when we only know ‘us’ and know nothing of ‘them’.
We will always be drawn to groups where we have something in common. This is true of the areas in which we choose to live (assuming our income gives us the luxury of choice); but, where large areas of like-minded individuals form, ‘like-minded’ can easily become ‘close-minded’. The best integrated societies are those where the housing stock is mixed, where we are likely to meet the world and his wife on our trips to the corner shop or the local GP, where we can get to know people as individuals, not as ‘them’.
The second world war had one good outcome in that, in many ways, it undermined the class system. In pulling together against a common enemy and against the adversity of bombing, hardships and rationing, people were in contact with others whom they might never have met in their normal lives. They discovered that our commonalities run much deeper than our differences and learned that grief, happiness, hunger, despair and hope affect us all. The advent of the welfare state, and the reforms in the education system initiated by the 1944 Education Act, continued that spirit and contributed to the many strides made towards equality over the last seventy years.
Today, it seems that the doors that were opening are starting to slam shut again. The welfare state is increasingly under attack. Our education system is being fragmented and higher education is again a luxury with a high price tag. Economic apartheid, the segregation of rich and poor, is another strand in this trend.
It is too easy to focus on our differences and forget the equality we find in the face of our shared human needs. Emphasising those aspects of our lives that we all share, recognising our common needs for peace, wellbeing and safety, binds us together as a society. This is more likely to happen where we encourage mixed communities. There is a better chance that our prejudices and fears about ‘the other’ will be challenged in our everyday contacts.
Economic apartheid is a moral issue. Where we meet one another as equals, simply as another human being with similar concerns about how our community prospers, there is the opportunity for change towards a better integrated society. There is no guarantee that contact with others will overcome our stereotypes of other people. It is quite possible that they will be reinforced if we do not to engage at more than a superficial level, but they certainly will not be challenged if we retreat into enclaves of ‘our own kind’.
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