Where the Guardian's Gary Younge sees "class struggle", I see a misplaced, perverted and unrecognised Darwinian struggle between individuals

LINK to article and comments

"Prince Andrew [has] . . an intellect worthy of the gene puddle from which he was fished."

I say, steady on, Gary . . ! The "gene puddle" you refer to is part of a much larger, ethnic European, gene pool. Making derogatory comments about one's OWN gene pool (or puddle) is one thing. Making them about other people's, is quite another, and there' a name it . . .

Otherwise, I thought your article was very good point, targeting the SYSTEM "that makes some people rich by making others poor."

However, the exploitative roots of the existing socioeconomic order go much deeper than your Marxist concept of "class struggle" gives credit to.

Classes (elites and interest groups) arise spontaneously as an expression of individuals (and their families), no longer dependent on and committed to their original tribe, continuing the primordial struggle for survival, advantage (over others) and "success" in the artificial environment of human society itself. Members of any group (class, profession, or whatever) seek the advantage of their own group(s) in the expectation that it will also be to their own (and immediate friends and family's), advantage. Thus, the fundamental (Darwinian) struggle is not between classes, but between individuals who simply (or convolutedly) use their various group affiliation(s) (class, profession, ethnicity, or whatever) to their own personal advantage.

It was to facilitate this misplaced and perverted Darwinian struggle, to the advantage of society's dominant individuals and elites (originally comprising just an aristocracy and priesthood), that state and economy arose in the first place, developing over the centuries to what we have today and thereby being largely reduced to the pursuit, retention and exercise of POWER, i.e. money, the moral high ground, social and professional status, etc. etc.

Like everyone else, Gary, you are pursuing your OWN self-interests, through the groups you belong to, while deceiving yourself (and others) into believing that you are serving (British) society as a whole.

It is interesting and important to note that virtually everyone in a position of power and privilege, from the monarch (president or whoever) down, will emphasize how they are SERVING society (their country, company, institution, or whatever), when in fact their primary and effective purpose (usually subconscious) is to exploit it to their own advantage.

This is what we need to recognise and develop an understanding of, if we are ever going to come to grips with the problems (social, political, economic and environmental) which between them now pose an immediate and existential threat to our civilization.