Question

List the factors that create inequalities and hamper the success of democracy

Answer 1

The situation that each of us are born into. If you’re born into a family with wealth and assets, you get a head start. That’s particularly important for Britain, as long held land ownership inequalities and networks of inherited wealth form a base of initial conditions that perpetuate inequality. We still has a landed aristocracy after all, which gives some members of society a headstart on everybody else. A recent LSE report showed that it also helps to be male and white. Women earn 21% less than men, and men of Bangladeshi or Black African descent earn 13-21% less on average than their white counterparts.
2. Early life opportunities – Our childhoods amplify those initial inequalities that we’re born into. Families with wealth are able to pay for better education for their children, opening doors to all kinds of opportunities. Britain has very poor social mobility, which means that those born into disadvantaged households are likely to remain disadvantaged themselves. (The US is also bad for social mobility, its reputation as the land of opportunity being more cultural mythology than reality).