The New Social Mobility

Abstract

Despite Britain in fact being a highly, if unevenly, mobile society, politicians, think-tanks and the media continue to call for ‘more social mobility’, moving it up the political agenda. Their speeches and official documents show they have misrepresented and misunderstood mobility, particularly how gender and the labour market shape outcomes, failings shared with much academic research. Placing social mobility in a context of political and sociological ideas, this book develops a fresh approach to mobility recognising the importance of downward mobility (ignored by politicians), acknowledging that absolute mobility rates are high, if uneven, but accepting that prospects for substantial improvement are poor. The expansion of middle class employment in modern society, which sustained mobility, is insufficient to power much further increase in upward mobility. Equalising educational opportunity (however inherently desirable) cannot change this: indeed it tends to strengthen the mistaken individualist and pseudo-meritocratic beliefs which legitimate the status quo, and disparage and victimise the ‘inevitable’ losers in the mobility race. Quantitative methods of analysis, which can sometimes be blunt tools, need to be elaborated by research on micro-causes, cultural capital and the personal experiences of being mobile. ‘More mobility’ will not solve social inequality, but reducing inequalities may promote mobility: the real issue is greater equality of outcome, rather than bogus claims for equality of opportunity. Today’s new type of society needs a new kind of social mobility.