I live in Britain. I do not like it here. This is because society is largely based on a class system. The most obvious aspect of the British class system is accent. There are so many accents in this country, that speaking in the wrong one immediately places the speaker into a deterministic box by listeners. This is why I do not talk in British society. Speakers of one particular accent are more valued than speakers of others, irrespective of WHAT they say. Often, the most valued British accent is the one which sounds like 'I am better than you', creating a power difference between speaker and the being spoken to. The act of wanting to speak in that accent is an act of maliciousness too. To be better than others through accent is selfish. It exudes a sense of self-entitlement for no reason at all. This difference in accent creates differences in power, which over time, have translated into differences in socio-economic status such as wealth, leading to the unjust levels of inequality observed across British society today. Fortunately, I have learned to liberate myself from the class system by speaking in a European accent, which reflects my ancestral background.

Accent is just one, but clearly the most obvious, aspect of British society that is destructive to individual achievement. The others are location like postcode, appearance and cultural taste.

The most confusing aspect of the British class system is that, at least in modern British society, it is designed to 'block' personal growth and achievement. It acts as a burden from which there is little chance of escape. Your place within it is largely decided at birth and so it is a deterministic structure that dictates the direction of your life. Compare this with European and even American standards where there is an obviously better sense of social mobility and you can begin to see why British society is becoming more and more dysfunctional, fractured and unproductive than ever before. The British class system leads to a malaise across British society and constrains social, economic and cultural growth and the people are mired in a constant class relations struggle in day to day life. This blocks the economic productivity of the nation as a whole as its population can never achieve their truest potential in the American/European sense as a result of being fettered by this relentless struggle. Interestingly, the class system was never designed to be as counter-productive in a historical sense as it is today, as its creation was largely based on feudalism in order to maintain order and increase productivity, efficiency of farmers in Medieval times.

Sadly, as British society became more advanced, the class system never disappeared and appears worse today than it has ever been. This is because it has, as society has grown, become more and more complex with many different elements deciding class, such that operating day to day life becomes mentally taxing, thus decreasing productivity, personal growth, achievement and ultimately blocking the socio-economic progress of the country.

British society is deeply unfair. Thousands of people are falling victim to class system mechanics whether they are aware of it or not. Over time, it ultimately reduces their opportunity and life expectancy, leading to an unfulfilled life and failed dreams and aspirations for many. It is why Britain as a whole is a deeply unfair and broken country that is in need of deep reform. Even the United Nations complains of the deep structural inequalities throughout British society.

Perhaps the saddest aspect to all of this and is most philosophical in its reasoning is the strong degree to which the British population seem to accept this torment inflicted on them, to such a point that they vote for it willingly. They elect leaders who entrench elements of the class system, whether through accent, appearance, name and job. It is lead to a vast mass of people who have been socially conditioned to accept and know their place within an arbitrarily created system of power that is designed to take away their power. Perhaps even more insidious is that British Universities, noticeably Oxbridge, are the bastion of the class system. They have promoted and sustained the class system in British society since their creation many centuries ago. Yet, they are regarded as morally superior places where young people must strive to attend, only to then be conditioned and swallowed into the class system where they remain forever, wallowing in a pit of unearned privileged at the cost of marginalising others in society. The class system is a struggle for power where should not be one.

Ultimately, British society is corrupted by a sweeping overarching power structure that transcends all levels of its society, manifest in people and even the landscape those people frequent. Outside of the individual, architecture is the most visible manifestation of the class system. Therefore, walking around British society today, one cannot help but feel a deep sense of unrest, a juxtaposition between the increasingly progressive young people against the formal backdrop of discriminatory material objects which signify the apotheosis of the class system. This leads to a society struggling to reconcile its identity in modern times. The British class system has deep philosophical implications for the people living in British society, for it is unethical if human life is to be valued. The British do not seem to want a cleaner, more simple and fulfilled life by removing themselves from the class system. I do not know why. I can only assume there must be some underlying genetic cause as a result of being an island nation.

... Thoughts?