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Chavs
- The Demonization of the Working Class
- Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
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Summary
In modern Britain, the working class has become an object of fear and ridicule. From Little Britain's Vicky Pollard to the demonization of Jade Goody, media and politicians alike dismiss as feckless, criminalized and 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 and 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 and economic problems and 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 and the situation in Britain today.
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What listeners say about Chavs
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- Emiliya Decheva
- 11-05-17
The excessive accents actually harm the point
Overall I found it interesting and engaging (down right infuriating when u think of the injustice).
I found a bit of repetitiveness- the main points were reintroduced and no further insight was provided.
Finally, the actor is harming the book and the points it makes. Excessive and unneeded use of northern accents throughout (as examples of working class, while Conservative representatives were presented as talking with no accents at all?!- a thing I found unpleasant
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33 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 20-05-17
the author shamelessly maniplates statistics
This book uses contradictory arguments and shamelessly maniplates statistics while berating others for doing the same thing!
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20 people found this helpful
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- Mr
- 07-04-17
A really good listen, and do right in many ways
I had never thought about the class war happening in the UK before but this throws it into sharp relief. A great listen, but does start to feel it is hammering the same point over and over. But it's an important point.
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20 people found this helpful
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- Greg Webster
- 04-05-17
Nothing to see here
A poor effort that offers very little to leave the listener thinking. The left is determined to make itself irrelevant in British politics and this book is yet more evidence of this. Zzzzzzz
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19 people found this helpful
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- Mister Peridot
- 30-01-19
Valuable study of modern Britain
Like his book, The Estabishment, this book should be required reading for anyone who want to have a better understanding of modern Britain and the grievous conceit of those who see themselves as being a cut above the rest. Owen Jones has noticed and studied a social phenomena which many other social commentators have ignored. And with his skill as a researcher and writer he has produced a definitive exploration of the subject. And as if that wasn't enough, the reader Leighton Pugh, does a superb job.
There is nothing new about the phenomenon of poor exploited people being despised by their privileged neighbours. Attitudes to slaves, the poor, the less educated and the generally less privileged have often if not always been characterised by wholly unjustified abuse and opprobrium. No doubt the underlying psychology is one of moral justification. If you live a relatively prosperous life you don't want your enjoyment of that life to be marred by feelings of guilt. So the rich unconsciously have a vested interest in despining the poor. Jones makes this point himself.
Very occasionally I thought the author got it slightly wrong, but only slightly and very occasionally. Describing the song I Predict a Riot by the Kaiser Chiefs as being emblematic of middle class indifference strikes me as one such example. Overall this is a very valuable and readable acount of a nasty social phenomenon we should be more aware of. And he writes the book in a way which makes it interesting. Its not a sermon from the Mount.
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18 people found this helpful
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- Tom
- 23-01-20
Thought provoking, but lacks substance.
It's obvious that Jones has a passion for this, but it is unfortunately just as obvious that his emotions cloud his judgement. His interpretation of statistics is somewhat wayward, but on the whole he does substantiate some of his claims with data. The problem comes when there is clearly no data on which to rely, and he resorts to anecdotal evidence. In these instances, he doesn't make it clear whether the opinion he is regurgitating is common, representative, or in the minority, but then why would he? That might undermine his argument. Beyond his clear personal bias, though, I think the far larger problem is he's picked the wrong problem. The class divide is far more likely to be between the working class and the useless class in the future, with current incumbents of all social classes contributing to both, rather than the class system to which we are currently accustomed. The solutions mentioned in this book are all either vague, or very short term. Happy to generalise the middle and upper classes to target them all at once, whilst insisting that not all working class people are tarred with the same brush is more than a little ironic, and leads to the conclusion that there is no individual responsibility to be had. I was sure this school of thought had died its death, but apparently not. For the record, I'm working class, from a single parent, low income, benefit dependent family, and I disagree with the overwhelming majority of what's proffered in this diatribe.
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16 people found this helpful
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- James L
- 29-09-17
Childishly Naive
It is unfortunate that the argument that reduced social support leading to greater inequality has a social cost is lost in this naive and juvenile book on class war.
Anyone looking for a balanced view of the costs and challenges of our current social policy should look away as this is a schoolboy rant of envy against simplified good vs bad views of British society.
Not worth the effort. The issues are real but this book is not.
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15 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 01-05-17
We all need to read this
Many things left of centre but food for thought
I am from an inner city council estate in the 70s
I honestly believe the kids growing up now do not have the chances that my generation had , books like this highlight the need for us all to get a heart
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13 people found this helpful
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- Steve S
- 08-01-18
See politics for what it truly is!
A very well written, interesting take on the last 30 years of politics and a lasting legacy of Maggie Thatcher.
Essentially it explains that if you give people jobs and housing, then society will be better for everybody including the elite. Trouble is, the elite want to take everything and therefore we all suffer. Time to rally the troops!
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11 people found this helpful
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- Gregory Monk
- 26-04-17
Delighted this is finally on Audible!
What did you like most about Chavs?
A useful retrospective of Britain at the point this book came out (which important forewords to update) covering some things that are still fresh in my memory and others I had forgotten.
What did you like best about this story?
After reading The Establishment when it came out, I especially liked this book as an insight into Jones' earlier work and the evolution of his views.
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11 people found this helpful