What about Classism? is a pressure group that has been set-up to advocate for the recognition of classism as a specific form of social discrimination that has its roots in rigged economics. Our mission has two main components:
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To create an open and safe space for people from all backgrounds – regardless of sex, race, age, ability or class – to explore classism as a form of social discrimination and to find creative solutions to overcome this obstacle to economic justice and social progress.
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To work towards putting classism on a par with other forms of social discrimination – such as racism and sexism – both in terms of (1) the level of awareness within the general public and (2) recognition within the eyes of the law.
What About Classism?
“We live in a country with a long history of upholding people’s rights, valuing diversity and challenging intolerance. The EHRC seeks to maintain and strengthen this heritage while identifying and tackling areas where there is still unfair discrimination or where human rights are not being respected.”
The second sentence is of particular importance as it acknowledges the possibility of, as yet, unrecognised forms of unfair discrimination that fall outside the protected characteristics of the Equality Act. This pressure group – What about Classism? – has been set-up to explore a form of social discrimination, called classism, as a case in point.
We believe that classism is the political elephant in the ideological room that, when seen, makes a mockery of the notion of Equality whilst also greatly diminishing the meaningfulness of Human Rights, not to mention the democratic process as a whole. Ignoring classism, as the establishment is, whilst paying lip service to anti-discriminatory practice, as the establishment does, is perhaps the contradiction of our times.
Why?
Whilst the Establishment has begun to recognise other important forms of social discrimination – such as racism and sexism – the issue of classism continues to go unacknowledged. This reality is reflected in both legislation (see the protected characteristics of the Equality Act, for example) and public discourse on social discrimination (consider how often you hear classism discussed within the media compared to other forms of social discrimination). We feel that correcting this imbalance is crucial for social progress. That is one reason we think there is a need for a pressure group that focuses on classism.
A second reason is that the organisations that already exist that should be addressing this particular form of social injustice – trade unions, socialist parties, charities – are, for various reasons, not doing their jobs well. Trade unions typically focus on “bread and butter” issues – such as pay and conditions – and rarely, if ever, talk about the more profound and fundamental issue of classism. When in power, socialist parties have tended to institutionalise classism whilst offering no vision or strategy for how to overcome this injustice. By focusing on issues such as poverty and inequality, charities focus on the symptoms of the problem, not the problem itself – which, of course, is classism.
Whilst some progress has undoubtedly been made in addressing economic injustice, the issue of classism clearly persists. It could be argued, in fact, that by ignoring classism many of these gains have helped to maintain this form of social discrimination.
Another important reason has to do with developments in understanding classism that have taken place over the past couple of decades (see Recommendations for details). We believe that these developments help to explain many of the shortfalls in tackling this particular area of social injustice highlighted above. We also feel that these developments and this understanding can help to inform a new and vibrant organisation dedicated to addressing classism as a specific form of social discrimination here in the UK.
It should be noted, however, that whilst important advances in addressing classism can undoubtedly be made within the borders of any one country it is also the case that any significant and long-lasting progress will probably only come about as a result of efforts that transcend national boundaries. For this reason we hope that other projects will be established in countries that also find themselves facing this same major barrier to progress and that these projects can work together for the mutual benefit of all as an effective transnational network in the promotion of our shared objectives.
Classism and…
So we focus on classism, not because we think it is more important than, say, racism and sexism but because classism has been obscured, overlooked and left behind. Furthermore, we should understand that to neglect one form of social discrimination is to neglect them all. Advances in social progress that overlook certain forms of social discrimination are therefore inherently fragile, making them vulnerable to regression.
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Classism and the arts
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Classism and activism
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Classism and classlessness
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Classism and consciousness
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Classism and crime
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Classism and democracy
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Classism and education
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Classism and the environment
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Classism and equality / inequality
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Classism and the labour movement / trade unions
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Classism and media / journalism
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Classism and mental / physical health
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Classism and racism
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Classism and sexism
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Classism and social exclusion / inclusion
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Classism and work / economics
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