From Common Dreams: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/02/24-5
by Adnan Al-Daini
Published on Sunday, February 24, 2013 by Common Dreams
Those who have been successful in society anywhere in the world either in business, the professions, academia or political achievements fall into two categories: either they consider themselves fortunate, or attribute their achievements to their hard work and relentless drive.
If they belong to the first they will show compassion and concern, and endeavor to be fair in their dealings with those of modest achievement. Those who belong to the second tend to be dismissive of the economic plight of the poor and vulnerable, and put the entire blame at their door.
Let us put the morality of these two positions aside and look at the evidence to see which view is supported by the facts. How good are Britain and the US in providing equal opportunities to their citizens? An OECD study examines this issue through a measure termed “intergenerational social mobility” defined as:
“[Intergenerational social] mobility reflects the extent to which individuals move up (or down) the social ladder compared with their parents. A society can be deemed more or less mobile depending on whether the link between parents’ and children’s social status as adults is looser or tighter. In a relatively immobile society an individual’s wage, education or occupation tends to be strongly related to those of his/her parents.”
Where do Britain and the US come under the above definition? The report compares twelve developed OECD countries. Britain comes out as the most socially immobile country, followed closely by Italy and the US. Denmark has the best intergenerational social mobility, and the two countries closest to Denmark are Australia and Norway.
The figures show that a child growing up in a poor family in Denmark has three times the chance of doing better than his/her parents than a child growing up in Britain, the US or Italy.
A child does not choose his/her parents; a fair society is one that gives him/her the opportunity to have a life economically more rewarding than the parents; it is also a waste of the latent talent in society. A country competing in the world to bring prosperity to its people cannot afford not to fully utilize their talents.
Of course, exceptional people with a bit of luck may break through barriers, achieving greatly in spite of the weight of disadvantage and deprivation on their shoulders, but such people are the exception.
Continue reading at: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/02/24-5
