ABSTRACT

This chapter explores some of the conceptual and practical difficulties that might make the attainment of such a goal problematic. It explains age discrimination is a particularly difficult and troubling form of discrimination to identify and counter – more so than sex or race discrimination. The revival of interest in Britain owes as much to the new economic conditions of postindustrial capitalism–particularly the need to maximize the supply of low-grade, cheap labour–as it does to abstract ideas of social rights and justice. The age discrimination debate in Britain has been highly masculinist in orientation, since it has focused mainly upon the labour market problems of older men. Ageism permeates popular attitudes, and manifests itself in subtle ways, which are difficult to detect and eradicate. Ageist assumptions are also inaccurate and misleading, since old people are as different from each other as are their fingerprints. Ageism does contain some inherent difficulties, which would make the designing of anti-discrimination legislation problematic.