Being Fair to the Young

Here on our little allotment in South Gloucestershire in the good old Dis-United Kingdom the average age of the allotment holders is, at a rough, guess, around 50 years of age. The oldest is over eighty, and the youngest is in her mid-thirties.
But the travails of the young are not lost to us, for, as Nosher observed recently, being young has never been more difficult in a world that seems to have gone stark raving bonkers.
And so, as we sheltered in Nosher's shed from a heavy shower this afternoon, we discussed a week that has been remarkable for the confusing signals given out by our incompetent leaders.
'First there was Dave "the people's toff" Cameron's comment that people should take more responsibility for their lives' remarked Nosher 'then there was that report by a Government advisor saying that parents should take more responsibility for the upbringing of their children, quickly followed by a parenting-pressure group responding that this insulted those parents who already do take responsibility for their children. Seems you can't please anyone these days - and what on earth are the young supposed to make of it all?'
'We live in interesting times' I observed 'the liberal Left is still, it seems, obsessed with the idea that it is "social forces" that dictate what we do and how we turn out, whereas the more libertarian Right is trying to get people to believe that it's down to their own efforts. The reality, I suspect, is somewhere inbetween: our choices and chances are restricted by our social circumstances, our potential is restricted by genetic factors, and how well we fare as we go through life is also influenced by how well we use the talents we were born with and the opportunities that present themselves. To see this as an ideological battle, as so many political activists do, is both absurd and confusing. Life is about opportunity and risk - and complaining that it is unfair is largely a waste of effort and drains energy that could be put to better use.'
Nosher gave me a quizzical look.
'So do you blame the parents for how well their children turn out?'
'It's about responsibility, not necessarily blame, although that might apply to in some cases' I replied 'good role models are essential - and that is what should be expected of parents. Where parenting is defective or entirely absent, we should not be surprised at the result. But that does not absolve either the child or the education system from taking some responsibility in how that child's life turns out. It seems to me that what has happened over the past fifty years is that Government has ceased to act as a moral leader in society, and has become simply an arena for fools and idiots to exercise their ambitions for power. When our politicians are such shifty, self-interested, waffling and inconsistent charlatans, one should not be surprised to see the population of the country lose direction somewhat.'
'So do you agree with Dave "the people's toff", that people should take more responsibility for their lives?' Nosher asked.
'Insofar as the basic message goes, yes I do agree with him' I replied 'since waiting for someone else to sort out one's life is the attitude of a loser and a waster. But I think we should also be circumspect about his motives - one thing that characterises almost all Governments of the past fifty years is the tendency to make token efforts to redeem social failure, and then go back to ignoring the issues yet again. That's why we have so many sink estates in our big cities, where there are often three generations of the same family who have never worked, and do not expect ever to work, because they view it as the State's job to support them with ever more generous benefits. That hasn't happened over night - it's the result of long-term political neglect.'
'So, I guess being fair to the young' said Nosher 'means ensuring they have opportunity to improve their lot in life, and if the parental motivation is lacking, making up for that at school by inspiring them to do their best, or at least finding something they're good at, even if it's not academic work.'
'Yep, I think that's about it' I said 'but achieving that would mean a wholesale reform of our education system away from solely academic achievement towards teaching things that are useful in life and which inspire youngsters to want to learn more, and to do useful jobs in society. Can't see that happening now - it's too late. So more and more of our youngsters will end up either unemployed or working in call-centres, since our economy has less and less to offer them, and they have less and less to offer it.'
'The thing that worries me' said Nosher 'is that as the oil crisis deepens and it becomes un-economic to ship manufactured goods to us from China, will there be any manufacturing skills left in this country to fill the void?'
'Nope' I replied 'and that is why we're heading down the plug-hole of life.'
'I'm so glad I've got an allotment to escape to' murmured Nosher.