Social Trends
nick cowen, 11 April 2007
The Office of National Statistics’ release of the latest Social Trends report has brought the issues facing Britain about which we are most concerned into sharp relief. David Green was interviewed on Radio 4’s Today program this morning on the consequences of increasing lone parents (listen again here).
Robert Whelan was interviewed by the Daily Mail, commenting on several problems that the social trends report highlights. He also commented on the dangerous trend, sanctioned by the government, of treating poor pupil behaviour differently according to their ethnic background. Minority children over the years have gone from feeling the stings of racism to experiencing the patronising stereotypes of so-called ‘anti-racism’. All without even the brief respite of being judged equally as peers regardless of the colour of their skin or religious background.
And finally, Nick Seddon has an article published in the Guardian on local government leisure trusts and their misuse of charitable status to redirect funds from the voluntary sector into providing statutory services.
what the hell did that mean????
The paternalistic attitude that some social liberals appear to be taking towards certain ethnic or cultural groups appears to be little different from the racist attitudes of imperialist colonists of the past who believed that indigenous cultures were incapable of governing themselves responsibly. This inference that certain ethnic or cultural groups are incapable of taking responsibility for themselves may be more subtle than in the past, but it’s no less racist and it is a problem that is arguably more widespread than the racism propogated by far-right groups. Arguments that they have the best interests of these groups at heart simply don’t cut it!
Nick Cowen: Absolutely. The theme of paternalism towards other groups within the liberal tradition goes at least as far back as Mill and it should be acknowledged that this is not anti-racism, but merely an alternative expression of traditional racist beliefs.