George Monbiot protests too vociferously about the “great tide of vitriol” his public school background has attracted (Opinion, 6 January). It’s true that “the left would be a bleaker place without thinkers from privileged backgrounds”. Nevertheless, the struggle for economic justice is a struggle for the self-emancipation of working-class people. So it ought to be the voice of that class which is prioritised in both the reportage of, and conduct of, such struggle. All too often, working-class voices are sidelined, when they should be at the core of debate. More than 45% of “leading” journalists are Oxbridge graduates, as are a substantial number of Guardian staff. Perhaps the “privileged progressives” would attract less vitriol had they not colonised so much of the space which ought to be available to those less privileged whose battles they observe from the dress circle.
Nick Moss
London
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