Tag Archives: inequality

Redistribution and recognition should go hand in hand.

Posted on April 17, 2022 by Eddie Playfair

Reading Nancy Fraser’s critique of progressive neoliberalism. Continue reading →

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French presidential election: could Mélenchon make it?

Posted on April 10, 2022 by Eddie Playfair

Today’s French presidential election. Today’s first round of the French presidential election comes at a time of shifting political assumptions, although the line-up of leading candidates looks familiar, with the top 3 candidates this time round all having been in … Continue reading →

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Owning our crises

Posted on March 26, 2022 by Eddie Playfair

The climate emergency and environmental degradation, the Covid-19 pandemic, the injustices of systemic racism, wars and their humanitarian consequences, the sharp rise in the cost of living… As one crisis succeeds another in dominating our thoughts, it’s easy to see … Continue reading →

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Resisting classification

Posted on December 23, 2021 by Eddie Playfair

The way we use categories doesn’t do justice to the multi-layered complexity of the world. It’s often a short cut to sweeping assumptions and flawed policy. Continue reading →

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A manifesto to end educational inequality?

Posted on September 9, 2021 by Eddie Playfair

The challenge We urgently need to address inequality and the human damage it causes, in education and across society. So, any programme with the aim of ‘eliminating educational inequality’ merits serious consideration. The eleven proposals in the Teach First ‘manifesto … Continue reading →

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Learning, earning and the death of human capital.

Posted on February 21, 2021 by Eddie Playfair

Is there a clear predictive relationship between the amount of education ‘received’, as measured by qualifications achieved, and future earnings? The idea is strongly held by many policymakers and it plays a part in the public debate about investment in … Continue reading →

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Tsitsi Dangarembga’s ‘Nervous Conditions’.

Posted on May 3, 2020 by Eddie Playfair

The personal is political, and this wonderful book is both entirely personal and deeply political. Nervous Conditions (1988) is the story of Tambudzai, a young woman growing up in rural Zimbabwe (then known as Rhodesia) in the late 1960’s, told … Continue reading →

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An A-Z for a world which has to change.

Posted on March 22, 2020 by Eddie Playfair

In the midst of a global coronavirus pandemic which threatens many lives, we need to remember that this is just one of several global crises we face which will change our world in profound ways. All these challenges require us … Continue reading →

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From Toynbee to TELCO via Chicago.

Posted on March 26, 2017 by Eddie Playfair

The evolution of responses to urban poverty and inequality. Part 1. From settlement to social activism Living and working in East London, I am interested in how our part of the city has been shaped by its past, how today’s … Continue reading →

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Educational inequality in Europe

Posted on May 28, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

What are the patterns of educational inequality in Europe? To help answer this question, The Social Atlas of Europe (Policy Press, 2014) by Danny Dorling, Dimitris Ballas and Benjamin Hennig provides a fascinating visual overview of inequalities across our continent … Continue reading →

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Challenging Neurosexism

Posted on January 24, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

In her brilliant Royal Institution lecture last week, Professor Gina Rippon from Aston University comprehensively trashed ‘neurotrash’ and the harmful gender stereotypes which it perpetuates. The term ‘neurotrash’ refers to the inappropriate application of neuroscientific findings to everyday life. Gina … Continue reading →

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Private affluence and public envy.

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

People who campaign for greater social equality sometimes get accused of ‘the politics of envy’. The idea being that anyone who keeps tediously pointing out the gap between rich and poor in our society is simply jealous, choosing to go … Continue reading →

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A better future for London?

Posted on May 29, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

The political parties are currently in the process of choosing their candidates for the 2016 London mayoral and Greater London Assembly elections. For Labour, this means that members in London are pondering who is best placed to help win back the … Continue reading →

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Market madness #7: What markets do to us

Posted on March 14, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

The creeping marketization of education has many aspects, each of which changes the way we see ourselves and the way we relate to others. Commodification: If education is seen as a commodity; something which can be consumed and traded, then schools, … Continue reading →

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