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The UK. Being educated at Eton is a pretty good proxy for "the elite". We've had seven Eton-educated Prime Ministers in the 20th and 21st Century, and 100% of t

The UK. Being educated at Eton is a pretty good proxy for "the elite". We've had seven Eton-educated Prime Ministers in the 20th and 21st Century, and 100% of them were Conservatives. There has never been an Eton-educated Labour PM and the majority of Labour MPs come from state schools. The political skew among the elites is pretty obvious.

gadders 11mo ago
You don't think Eton is being flooded with progressive views? [1] A far better proxy for "the elite" would be "people who studied PPE at Oxford" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_University_of_Oxford_people_with_PPE_degrees https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_University_of_Oxford_p... [1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-58244672 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-58244672
- ad_hockey 11mo ago
  That's a far worse proxy. If you want to study PPE at university then you have to pay, there is no alternative. Studying at Eton is entirely unnecessary, given that state schools exist, and also far more expensive - Oxford costs £9,500 per year, Eton is about £17,500 per term. That's why it's the sole preserve of the elite, unlike Oxford.
  - gadders 11mo ago
    You seem to think "Elite" means "Rich" whereas "Elite" in this context means "opinion-former". Some can be rich, some can be MPs, civil servants, journalists, editors etc. EG: https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/26102-who-are-elite-britain https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/26102-who-are-elite-b...
    - ad_hockey 11mo ago
      Using your own data, then: can you present your evidence that the majority of MPs, CEOs, bankers, and newspaper editors are left wing?
      - gadders 11mo ago
        MPs - obviously, look at the Labour majority. CEOs - quite a large proportion. Bankers - more than you would expect Newspaper editors - Guardian, Mirror, Independen Civil Service - pretty much all of it
        ad_hockey 11mo ago
        Prior to the current government the Tories were in power for 14 years, mostly with a majority. So I guess your opinion that the elites are left wing must be quite recently formed? For the newspaper editors, take a look at the circulation figures for 2020 (the last year that we have a full set)[1] The Guardian, i, and Mirror had a combined circulation of 800,989. The Mail, Express, Sun, Times, and Telegraph had a combined circulation of 4,246,217. That’s 81% (you'll also notice there are more of them). The newspaper landscape in the UK is overwhelmingly right wing. I don’t know why you’ve included Civil Servants, since according to your own data only 32% of respondents think they’re part of the elite. I think this has probably run its course. I did ask for evidence, but from your answers for CEOs and bankers it’s pretty obvious that your opinion is just based on vibes. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_newspapers_in_the_United_Kingdom_by_circulation#cite_note-UK20-15 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_newspapers_in_the_Unit...
        gadders 10mo ago
        [flagged]
        ad_hockey 10mo ago
        You picked the sample, not me. Those categories are taken directly from the YouGov poll that you linked. I took the four categories where "Are members of the ruling class" scored higher than "Are not..." Your own data doesn't support your argument. I'd also point out that the comment you originally replied to specified "economic/political elite", which is why I started off with politicians. The BBC doesn't fall into either category, it's media.

gadders 11mo ago

You don't think Eton is being flooded with progressive views? [1] A far better proxy for "the elite" would be "people who studied PPE at Oxford" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_University_of_Oxford_people_with_PPE_degrees https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_University_of_Oxford_p... [1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-58244672 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-58244672

ad_hockey 11mo ago
That's a far worse proxy. If you want to study PPE at university then you have to pay, there is no alternative. Studying at Eton is entirely unnecessary, given that state schools exist, and also far more expensive - Oxford costs £9,500 per year, Eton is about £17,500 per term. That's why it's the sole preserve of the elite, unlike Oxford.
- gadders 11mo ago
  You seem to think "Elite" means "Rich" whereas "Elite" in this context means "opinion-former". Some can be rich, some can be MPs, civil servants, journalists, editors etc. EG: https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/26102-who-are-elite-britain https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/26102-who-are-elite-b...
  - ad_hockey 11mo ago
    Using your own data, then: can you present your evidence that the majority of MPs, CEOs, bankers, and newspaper editors are left wing?
    - gadders 11mo ago
      MPs - obviously, look at the Labour majority. CEOs - quite a large proportion. Bankers - more than you would expect Newspaper editors - Guardian, Mirror, Independen Civil Service - pretty much all of it
      - ad_hockey 11mo ago
        Prior to the current government the Tories were in power for 14 years, mostly with a majority. So I guess your opinion that the elites are left wing must be quite recently formed? For the newspaper editors, take a look at the circulation figures for 2020 (the last year that we have a full set)[1] The Guardian, i, and Mirror had a combined circulation of 800,989. The Mail, Express, Sun, Times, and Telegraph had a combined circulation of 4,246,217. That’s 81% (you'll also notice there are more of them). The newspaper landscape in the UK is overwhelmingly right wing. I don’t know why you’ve included Civil Servants, since according to your own data only 32% of respondents think they’re part of the elite. I think this has probably run its course. I did ask for evidence, but from your answers for CEOs and bankers it’s pretty obvious that your opinion is just based on vibes. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_newspapers_in_the_United_Kingdom_by_circulation#cite_note-UK20-15 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_newspapers_in_the_Unit...
        gadders 10mo ago
        [flagged]
        ad_hockey 10mo ago
        You picked the sample, not me. Those categories are taken directly from the YouGov poll that you linked. I took the four categories where "Are members of the ruling class" scored higher than "Are not..." Your own data doesn't support your argument. I'd also point out that the comment you originally replied to specified "economic/political elite", which is why I started off with politicians. The BBC doesn't fall into either category, it's media.