How to Save the Underclass

The outstanding moral problem of our time is the emergence of an underclass, provoking both pity and an angry political backlash. Robin Marris finds that a slowdown in growth is the root cause, leading to a collapse of the labour market for unskilled men in particular. Fashionable solutions such as lower wages or welfare reform benefit those already well-off, and exacerbate growing income inequality. He employs statistical, sociological and psychological analysis and new developments in 'brain science' to show how the creation of an open society with increased equality of opportunity risks creating an unnecessarily excessive meritocracy. The solution is restoring national and international priority to the objective of growth. If this fails, damage limitation is essential. We must learn to live with the welfare state. In this major book, Robin Marris finds that a slowdown in growth is the root cause, leading to a collapse in the labour market for unskilled men in particular. While the technological revolution and the globalization of trade are both desirable in themselves, they have interacted with the growth slowdown to make the problem more serious. Front Matter....Pages i-6 The Problem and its Causes....Pages 7-39 Education, Employment and Earnings....Pages 40-61 The Truth about the Growth Slow-down....Pages 62-110 The Role of Trade....Pages 111-126 Meritocracy, Intelligence and Welfare....Pages 127-171 A Better Way....Pages 172-210 Back Matter....Pages 211-229