I agree with a lot of what you say. But I’m not sure that social mobility being desirable should be taken as self-evident.
I believe equality is good for us, so if social mobility results in greater inequality, for me that is bad.
And of course social mobility goes both ways when there are finite resources. It can go downwards. You recognise the need for social safety nets, and I would say that these are both more necessary and harder to supply in a more unequal and ‘socially mobile’ economy. At least that is what is happening in English-speaking countries like mine and yours.
The basic assumption is that we should be able to work our way from poverty to prosperity, but I’m saying that all of us should be kept somewhere roughly between the two.
I agree with a lot of what you say. But I’m not sure that social mobility being desirable should be taken as self-evident.
I believe equality is good for us, so if social mobility results in greater inequality, for me that is bad.
And of course social mobility goes both ways when there are finite resources. It can go downwards. You recognise the need for social safety nets, and I would say that these are both more necessary and harder to supply in a more unequal and ‘socially mobile’ economy. At least that is what is happening in English-speaking countries like mine and yours.
The basic assumption is that we should be able to work our way from poverty to prosperity, but I’m saying that all of us should be kept somewhere roughly between the two.