Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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Women’s experiences show the promise of social mobility is empty
PROFESSOR SELINA TODD explores why women have often been so sceptical of the notion of ‘meritocracy’
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
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NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
TODAY “social mobility” is a synonym for fairness and meritocracy in many Western societies.
There are all kinds of flaws with this as a project — and they become abundantly clear when we consider women’s experiences.
By examining women’s lives across the past century, we see the need to fight for a more egalitarian society and for true liberation — not just a few more black or female faces in our ruling class.
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