Moral Maze

The Morality of Snobbery


Listen Later

People like us... you know what I mean. Snobbery? It's everywhere, and most of us would admit to it, at least occasionally. But beyond the caricatures of snooty and disdainful types who enjoy looking down on the tastes, habits and backgrounds of others, there's the serious matter of how it affects people's life chances. The British Psychological Society has launched a campaign to make social class a legally protected characteristic, like sex, race and disability. It would force employers and others to tackle discrimination on the basis of class. The idea is to reduce the damaging effects of class-based prejudice across education, work and health, and create a fairer society.

People from working class backgrounds are less likely to get into a top university or land a highly paid job, but how much of that is down to the snobbery of others? Is a change in the law really going to shift prejudices that have been embedded over generations? Is it right to use the law in this way? More broadly, what’s wrong with expressing a preference about how other people present themselves? Isn't some behaviour that gets labelled as snobbery just an attempt to defend high standards, whether in speech, writing, taste or manners? Is there a moral case for snobbery? With Bridgette Rickett, D.J. Taylor, David Skelton and Alex Bilmes.

Producers: Jonathan Hallewell and Peter Everett

Presenter: Michael Buerk

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Moral MazeBy BBC Radio 4

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

51 ratings


More shows like Moral Maze

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,421 Listeners

From Our Own Correspondent by BBC Radio 4

From Our Own Correspondent

370 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,812 Listeners

Start the Week by BBC Radio 4

Start the Week

156 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,665 Listeners

Thinking Allowed by BBC Radio 4

Thinking Allowed

310 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,739 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,075 Listeners

The Bottom Line by BBC Radio 4

The Bottom Line

36 Listeners

The Week in Westminster by BBC Radio 4

The Week in Westminster

29 Listeners

Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4 by BBC Radio 4

Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4

2,129 Listeners

More or Less: Behind the Stats by BBC Radio 4

More or Less: Behind the Stats

893 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

2,065 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,045 Listeners

Any Questions? and Any Answers? by BBC Radio 4

Any Questions? and Any Answers?

39 Listeners

The New Statesman | UK politics and culture by The New Statesman

The New Statesman | UK politics and culture

143 Listeners

The Briefing Room by BBC Radio 4

The Briefing Room

82 Listeners

Political Thinking with Nick Robinson by BBC Radio 4

Political Thinking with Nick Robinson

98 Listeners

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle by BBC World Service

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle

4,169 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

2,972 Listeners

The Great Post Office Trial by BBC Radio 4

The Great Post Office Trial

35 Listeners

The Rest Is Politics by Goalhanger

The Rest Is Politics

3,027 Listeners

The News Agents by Global

The News Agents

909 Listeners

The Rest Is Politics: Leading by Goalhanger

The Rest Is Politics: Leading

809 Listeners

Radical with Amol Rajan by BBC Radio 4

Radical with Amol Rajan

26 Listeners