In modern Britain the working class has become an object of fear & ridicule From Little Britain's Vicky Pollard to the demonization of Jade Goody media & politicians alike dismiss as feckless criminalized & ignorant a vast underprivileged swathe of society whose members have become stereotyped by one hate-filled word chavs In this acclaimed investigation Owen Jones explores how the working class has gone from 'salt of the earth' to 'scum of the earth' Exposing the ignorance & prejudice at the heart of the chav caricature he portrays a far more complex reality The chav stereotype he argues is used by governments as a convenient fig leaf to avoid genuine engagement with social & economic problems & to justify widening inequality When Chavs was first published in 2011 it opened up the discussion of class in Britain Then in the public debate after the riots of that summer Owen Jones's thesis was proved right
- the working class were the scapegoats for everything that was wrong with Britain This new edition
Includes:: a new chapter reflecting on the overwhelming response to the book & the situation in Britain today