ABSTRACT
The extent to which Britain can become a classless society, and the role of government in facilitating the emergence of a society in which class inequalities are absent, have once again entered public debate. The issue is likely be a major theme in the political discourse of the current Labour Government. Using somewhat different rhetoric, the main political parties will express their commitment to the creation of a more equal society. For the Conservative Party, these ideas will be stressed in terms of opportunities and choices. The Labour Government will emphasise new opportunities and the realisation of potential. The Liberal Democrats will call for greater opportunities and independence for all. Each party, in other words, will try to create a vision of Britain in the twenty-first century which is freed from the shackles of the class inequalities of the past. For all three parties, a classless society is defined as one in which people’s life chances are achieved through merit, rather than ascribed on the basis of inherited advantage. It is a liberal view of a classless society, in which people are given equal opportunities to compete over the distribution of rewards, rather than a radical view, which also challenges inequalities of condition and outcome. It is about changing processes rather than structures (Cockburn 1991; Jewson and Mason 1986; see also Chapter 5 above).
