Where even the rich can succeed.
The week's news at a glance.
United Kingdom
Ben MacintyreLondon Times
We British have finally overcome class snobbery, said Ben Macintyre in the London Times. There was a time, not too long ago, when anyone with a privileged or titled background was automatically excluded from high office. Ever since World War II ushered in a more egalitarian age, a genteel pedigree has been “a serious political liability,” and “Eton” the most insulting of all four-letter words. Having attended that posh boys’ school branded a man forever as an upper-class twit. Etonians are believed to adhere to “a bizarre, quasi-Hasidic dress code” and inhabit a world of “stiff collars, stiffer manners, noses of toffee, and spoons of silver.” Among Labor Party politicians, the prejudice against “toffs,” as those in the upper class are called, is still widespread. But “whether a purely negative association still holds true for the population at large is more uncertain.” Conservatives, at least, have bravely shed the unfair bias, choosing Eton grad David Cameron as their new leader. The intrepid trailblazer has managed to rise to the top of his party—“in spite of” his superior education. “That is surely proof that the old class divisions are slowly becoming irrelevant.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
What has Kamala Harris done as vice president?
In Depth It's not uncommon for the second-in-command to struggle to prove themselves in a role largely defined by behind-the-scenes work
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - September 16, 2024
Monday's cartoons - a second assassination attempt, eating pets, and more
By The Week US Published
-
'If this is a race, China has a commanding lead'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published