We have a historical habit of conflating wealth and character in the UK. This is core to the class system.
It is also core to the Classic Liberalism political ideology our current government believes in today – the idea that a person’s situation depends entirely on the individual decisions made. It does not acknowledge inequality of opportunities.
Historically in a more religion centric society that if you were poor or you were disabled that was because YOU had made bad choices. You must be sinful or immoral in some way, which is why punishment for poverty was justified.
Then came The Beveridge Report which found that actually the 5 giants were at play. It was from The Beveridge Report that education, housing standards, the NHS and the welfare state was born. It made economic sense too.
Then came the 80s with its “nanny state” rhetoric and back to blaming the poor for things infact the rich controlled. The media run by billionaires are friends with the billionaires in the government but divide and conquer tactics are effective. We now see again the rolling back of the state and the teachings of the Beveridge Report forgotten, we see more of the demonisation of the poor again.
So why does this matter to those working with children and young people?
Well the obvious reason’s related to the hierarchy of needs is that children’s needs for warmth and food are less likely to be be met as the number of children in poverty rise with the cost of living crisis.
There is also the SEMH impact. If we as a society have decided that those on benifits are “lazy”, “scroungers”, “feckless”, not good enough to be tenants, probably criminals and thugs, whose children shouldn’t have been born if they couldn’t afford them and are a drain on decent tax paying people – then we teach our children that being poor is something to be ashamed of.
Despite the wealth of their family not being something that children and young people have any control over or responsibility for, with the cost of living crisis brings their demonisation. We have created a new generation of children who we have taught to be ashamed of their existence, that they are less worthy of respect or consideration, that they are not good enough. This will translate into how they feel about themselves and in turn how they are treated by others. What is acceptable behaviour towards them and what circumstances they should tolerate.
Let’s look at these ‘terrible people draining society’. Most on befits are currently in work but their employers are able to underpay knowing the welfare state will make up the rest of the wage. Unpaid ‘women’s work’ is the backbone of our society and contributes 140 billion a year to the UK economy, carers get £65.45 a week to live on, not even minimum wage and are saving local authorities thousands per month, SEND children are found by government green papers to be failed and not have access to a better quality of life because of these failings. These people are in circumstances out of their choosing and contribute hugely to our society. Yet all these people are labelled “dole scum”.
Children who believe they are worthless who should be grateful for what they get, carry that throughout their lives. They read the comment section. It is ingrained into them that they are worse than useless because their very existence bothers everyone else.
– They do not grow confidently enough to access education or employment opportunities.
– They are more likely to be exploited by gangs and groomers who make them feel like they matter and belong.
– They accepts unhealthy and abusive relationships because they don’t believe they are worth or can do better.
Is this what we want for a generation of cost of living crisis kids?
Exploitation, abuse and mental health issues? To accept the self fulfilling prophecy that they are the worthless criminals they are told they are?
Is it time for us to admit that we do not live in a meritocracy? That there is no correlation between a person’s wealthy and their character. That if hard work had anything to do with money, African women would be the richest people in the world. To stop burdening our children and good people in our society.
Stop measuring a person’s worth based on their contributions to capitalism.
Let’s teach our young people that their worth comes from their thirst for knowledge, being part of the communities, having good emotional regulation skills, feeling OK with asking for help, knowing they deserve consent and respect in all aspects of their lives, on seeing failure as a learning opportunity and not something to get defensive about and to deflect.
There are so many more important things to be than rich. Including the recognition that an unequal society contributes to that and not personal responsibility.
Maybe that’s a lesson we all could learn before it’s passed on to our children.
G. Aitchison 