Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Have you ever lived there?

Children are ranked by intelligence at a very young age, making it so underprivileged kids are told “you’re not going to make it” at a young age and relegated to a “lower” class. London street drug sales are thus dominated by disillusioned teenagers. Entire cities lost their way of life when Thatcher ended their industries and became dead ends where heavy drug addiction is quite rampant. The population is parted into two (as is common in “post-industrial” societies) the folks who take the now exorbitant loans for education and “make it”, and those that don’t and get relegated to receiving a living wage for the rest of their lives. There is an almost palpable feeling of haves and have-nots, around housing and increasingly everything else.

Yes there is some social contract in place but the post-industrial society is not a gentle one that I’ve witnessed. I’ve seen 2/3 (south of Brazil, north of Portugal and industrial England/Scotland). They don’t really compare well to successful industrial countries like Germany.

Vaclav Smil said “with no manufacturing there is no middle class”.



Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: