Inequality

The gap between the rich and the others is getting greater and is the source of much hand-wringing and comment - but is this just a return to normality? 

Throughout history there has always been inequality - and extreme inequality at that. The slave empires of the ancient world or the contrast between the lives of the builders of Blenheim Palace and its owners could not paint a starker picture. But there was a time, in the immediate aftermath of WW2, when society was much more equal than before or since. This was down to common shortages (rationing was the same for everyone), penal taxation, a national health service and an education system that propelled bright working class children to the top. This has become the base from which modern inequality has risen.

But the point is that this was an anomaly. It was a time of unique events and circumstances probably never to be repeated. The sad fact is that inequality is a fact of life. The penalty for the rich is that every now and then they get murdered in their beds by the poor.....