Social Mobility: And Its Enemies (Pelican Books)

by Lee Elliot Major

Socially diverse elites make for better leaders and decision makers. They understand and empathize with the people they are meant to serve. They are less likely to suffer from the ‘group think’ and narrow perspectives that characterize homogenous ruling classes. ‘It is entirely possible for politicians to rely on advisors to advise, civil servants to devise policy solutions and journalists to report on their actions having all studied the same courses at the same universities, having read the same books, heard the same lectures and even being taught by the same tutors,’ the Social Mobility Commission has argued. ‘This risks narrowing the conduct of public life to a small few, who are very familiar with each other but far less familiar with the day-to-day challenges facing ordinary people in the country.’