IS EQUALITY THE GOAL?

I-60s and 70s: consensus and crisis

Men and women had different paygrades. On paper, the difference what based on 4
conditions, which included skills and women. Ofc, women workers – working in heavily masculine
industries – were not happy about it.

In the middle of the 19th century, there was a general belief that women should be at home, and
that the ideal wage for her man should be able to support for the family. Until the 70s, there was a
general belief that if women were to be paid as much as men, it would put in peril this ideal of
women as domestic people. So, it was hard? For Unions wanted to represent their workers.

Women would be sewing car seats in car industries – sewing is a woman’s job. When they
realised, they were paid less, they went on strike to take regrading of their job. They ended up
meeting with Industry Minister Barbara Castle, who promised she would pass a law for equal pay.
Until that moment, they went back to work, normally.

 Different paygrades on women and men

 On paper, differed on skills, etc… and women
 Women workers wewre not happy, no shit
 Were working in heavily masculine industries
 Unions wanted to represent their workers
 Mid 19th, general belief that ideal position of women= at home and ideal wage of man= to
support family
 Until 70s, unions= believe if you pay women as much of men, it would endanger this ideal of
women=domestic tasks
 Car factories. Women=sewing car seats (women’s jobs)
 Realised they were padi less -> strike to get regrading of their job to be paid s much
 Met up with industry minister Barabara Casle?
 Promised she would pass a law for equal pay
 Went back to work believing it
 Got a pay raise
 Barbara Cassle introduced the equal pay act
 Some sectors of the economy have more men or female workers (nurses/doctors, etc…)
 But if lowest jobs= women and highest jobs= men, problem for equality
 But equal pay for equal value= the best they could do
 Criteria for equality?= amount of money you produce, risks of your job, responsibility, time
of studies, etc…
 Reduction of inequality is more interesting
 Should there be a maximum inequality allowed?
 Relative poverty (cf last CM)= focused on that
 60s= relatively affluent society, still consensus to keep some form of welfare state in the
country
 But 70s= series of economic crises -> welfare state became harder to implement
 Consensus was falling
 Welfare state had not eradicated poverty, although health care was better (more people had
it) but still huge regional disparities (poverty pockets)
  Redistribution of housing? Was the crisis of the Lbour party
o Created with socialist principles, in 1918 constitution=nationalisation of all means of
production
o Natinalisation of some industries in the 70s= which were not making a lot of money
and the owners were compensated for the nationalisaiton of their industry
 Moving form a consensus to a crisis which caused a rethining of the welfare state
 Labour party measures to help redistribute wealth= timid measures, but still some
consensus that there should be more action from the state

II-80s and 90s: no such thing as society

 Things changed
 Winter of 1978-1979= series of strikes ‘The Winter of Discontempt’
 Among those strikes, 2 left a mark in memories
 Strike of trash collectors in London
o Rubbish was not collected anymore
o Not too smelly bc winter
 Strike of grave diggers
 Thatcher believed in what is now neo-liberalism
o State should intervene as little as possible in the economy, but should still help
businesses
 Tried to reduce the cost of social public spendings
 She could not do al lthe cuts she wanted to do bc people were not fans
 Did not reduce in the NHS, but had more management there than doctors
 Reduced the state involvement in poverty bc believed that everybody should be responsible
for their own actions, it is not the state’s job to help them
 There is no such thing as society
o =responsibility to help people does not fall on society
o One should be responsible for themselves and their close ones
 Ignores another aspect of inequality: not everybody starts from the same place
 Equality of outcomes is not equality od opportunity
 Natural inequality
 Neo-liberalism ignores that
 Leaves a lot of people on the side
 Did not destroy the welfare state, reorganised it so that individual responsibility was a the
heart of it
 Kicked out of the leadership of Conservative party date
 Dates of her time as PM
 Followed by John Major who kept on restructuring the Welfare State
 Labour party is elected date

III-00s: new Labour

 Tony Blaire reformed the Labour party

 One part of the reform=took nationalisation out of the constitution
 Accepted the capitalist system
 Moved his party away from socialism of the party
 Did not reorganise the welfare state to destroy Thatcher’s work
 No reforms about poverty
 Did take some smaller measures to alleviate poverty
 o Reduction of inequality under his government
o % of GNP dedicated to national spendings= did not change under Thatcher and
Blaire

IV-Where are we now (CC)

 Cost of living crisis

 Atm= free school meals
 Qu of poeverty= qu of child poverty
o They’re not responsible for it
 Education= way up, and you should not go to school hungry
 Kinda goes back to Malthus