Has anybody caught the Death of Respect on BBC 2? I caught it a hour or so ago on the I-Player and this is a thought provoking documentary on the severe social breakdown of the UK, with the country being more economically downtrodden in comparison to the rest of Europe, the working class all but fragmented, a growing rich/poor divide, the middle class under pressure, feral children roaming wild, uncouth nightlife "culture", mass unemployment, increasingly dysfunctional families, and public apathy/hostility rife.
It sometimes veers into a Daily Mail diatribe (especially in regards to religion providing a safety net) but it is overall a humane and insightful documentary highlighting how a curious mix of leftwing social liberalism from the 60s and rightwing economic liberalism from the 80s taken to the unsustainable extreme has systematically eroded the cultural and social cohesion of the UK. All these big changes have a universal but subtle knock on effect throughout the social fabric; an unprofitable steel refinery plant is closed down, but what of the families of the workforce and smaller local businesses supporting these families?
You have families falling apart in their millions in the 70s and 80s, due to the destruction of the old manufacturing base, which leads to alienated girls who have children themselves far too young, because their offspring are the only people in their sad little lives who are gentle and affectionate! Capitalism for Capitalism's sake is leading us nowhere.
It sometimes veers into a Daily Mail diatribe (especially in regards to religion providing a safety net) but it is overall a humane and insightful documentary highlighting how a curious mix of leftwing social liberalism from the 60s and rightwing economic liberalism from the 80s taken to the unsustainable extreme has systematically eroded the cultural and social cohesion of the UK. All these big changes have a universal but subtle knock on effect throughout the social fabric; an unprofitable steel refinery plant is closed down, but what of the families of the workforce and smaller local businesses supporting these families?
You have families falling apart in their millions in the 70s and 80s, due to the destruction of the old manufacturing base, which leads to alienated girls who have children themselves far too young, because their offspring are the only people in their sad little lives who are gentle and affectionate! Capitalism for Capitalism's sake is leading us nowhere.
