Analysis of Hard Work: Life in Low-pay Britain by Polly Toynbee - Book Report/Review Example

Toynbee P. (2003). Hard Work: Life in Low-pay Britain. London: Bloomsbury Publishing [242pp; ISBN 0-7575-6415-9; £6.99. Polly Toynbee took several weeks from her comfortable home, to go and taste what it is like to live as a poor person. Despite the fact that she was just pretending to be a poor person, the life that she experienced while working under various minimum wage paying job and living in a filthy vacant flat in the down town "The White House" estate in London, she discovered that the living conditions of the poor can simply be defined as frightening, dispiriting and frustrating. Nevertheless, this might appear to be common knowledge for many. However, the only thing that many people within the society may not have discovered is the fact that; it is now much more difficult for the poor people to come out of poverty, and go up the ladders of affluence, than it was in the 1960s. Therefore, in the book, Hard Work: Life in Low Pay Britain by Polly Toynbee, the reality of the disparity existing between the rich and the poor, as well as all the dimensions from which poverty can be defined have been comprehensively covered, such that anyone with a heart will definitely realize that the society needs to do something about poverty. But instead of displaying action towards addressing the poverty question, “the Labour Party had silenced itself in a fit of its own madness” (Toynbee, 2003:1). However, the most controversial aspect of this book, which then makes it difficult for many people to comprehend, is the assertion that some minimum paying jobs are now paying less than they used to pay over 40 years ago, when the salary is estimated in terms of the real income, with the poor living on “£4.10 an hour that is £164 a week” (Toynbee, 2003:2). The methodology that Polly Toynbee has applied to reinforce this argument is however very scientific, credible and reliable. Toynbee applied the calculation from the Institute of Fiscal Studies, to arrive at absolute numbers that indicates that even though the wealth of the UK has doubled within the last three decades, the minimum-wage paying jobs such as those of cleaners, cake factory workers and assistants in home care are now worse off than they would have been 40 years ago, if they would have been paid the salary scale that was offered back then, despite the fact that since “1970 national income (GDP) has doubled” (Toynbee, 2003:3). At this point, it becomes vital to pose the question; what has happened to the doubling of the nation’s wealth, such that it has left the poor even poorer? This can be answered by her own experience during the several weeks she experienced the life of poverty. Despite earning the minimum wage that was barely enough to support the basic needs, the first things that she went ahead to purchase was a television set, and a mobile telephone. This simply portrays that the demand of life at present are much more than they were 40 years ago, and thus a poor person working for a minimum wage would have managed to save some part of his/her income, and eventually apply the same to venture into economic means that could liberate him/her from the yoke of poverty. However, currently, the demands of life are such that even for the very poor people, they must own some luxury items or otherwise they may not survive. Thus, when four decades ago a television set and a mobile phone were the preserve of not just rich, but very rich in the case of a mobile phone, the same has turned out to be a necessity presently. But it easy to ask, Can a poor person afford to live without a phone presently? The answer is probably not on the affirmative. This is because, it is through the phone that the individual is able to connect with the work place and thus manoeuvre through job search and favourable working environment, with the limited connections the individual might have. Therefore, living without a mobile phone would be simply tantamount to keeping the poor person in darkness, amidst poverty. Therefore, the major point that the book, Hard Work: Life in Low Pay Britain by Polly Toynbee is driving home, is the fact that; more than at any other time in the history of the world, the state must proactively engage with the issue of poverty. Nevertheless, there is a sharp contrast in the argument presented in the book, Hard Work: Life in Low Pay Britain by Polly Toynbee. First, the book argues that the poor within the modern society are worse off economically, and thus poorer than the poor were four decades ago. On the other hand, the book presents evidence to the effect that presently, the poor in the society have access to luxuries that the poor in the past four decades could not access. The poor could not afford much luxury 40 years ago. Thus, they could not have television, refrigerators, heating and cooling systems in the house, or even better shoes to go work. In this point, Polly Toynbee is absolutely correct. The poor in our generation are living a life that is reflective of a rich society, because they can definitely afford some luxuries that were only available to the poor several decades ago. If this is the case, why then, does Polly Toynbee argue that he poor in the modern society are poorer than the poor in the past? The answer to this can be found by the discovery that; while the society perceives poverty and the poor from the social status and economic perspective, Polly Toynbee sees the society from the eye of morality, ethics and egalitarianism. While applying the same perspective, it would be very easy to understand her argument. Toynbee observes that the individuals who are undertaking the very critical and most hard jobs are just earning a paltry sum, while the crème of the society is earning a hundred times more, yet its work delivery and output is not as critical, with the “MPs earning more than 96% of the poor population” (Toynbee, 2003:6). This perhaps explains the reason why the state and authorities will continuously produce statistics and data to the effect that the modern society is better than the historical one, obviously basing their findings on the social status and lifestyle perspectives. These perspectives will currently indicate that there is a higher percentage of the population that is able to afford luxuries, than it happened in the past. However, when the disparity between the rich and poor is assessed, it will prove that the rich have gotten richer more than the poor have been able to come out of poverty. In this respect, it can be conclusive to say that the main theme of book, Hard Work: Life in Low Pay Britain by Polly Toynbee, is to question the morality of the disparity existing between the rich and poor. In the capitalist society, which the UK and majority of the global nations represent, the value of labour is not assessed on the basis of moral merit. The value of labour in the capitalist society is simply measured in terms of what the labour force is willing to exchange its labour services for. This willingness is further made a function of the ability to satisfy the basic human needs, such that the poor will always be ready and willing to offer very hard labour, in return for minimum wage that will just sustain their basic livelihoods. However, the willingness and readiness displayed by the poor in this respect is not out of deliberate need to work hard, but solely due to the fact that they have little options open for them, other than to do the hard work. This is what, in the analysis and evaluation of the society by Polly Toynbee, constitutes social-economic immorality. Therefore, what the book, Hard Work: Life in Low Pay Britain by Polly Toynbee simply wants to say is that, the end of a possible upward mobility by the poor closed four decades ago in the 1970s, and thus the window does not seem to open for the poor anymore. The relevant question that Polly Toynbee drives the modern society to ask at this point is; how does it feel to be poor in an affluent country? Through her book, Hard Work: Life in Low Pay Britain, Toynbee has directed the society to answer that it feels worse. This is because, it would be better for the poor people to afford no luxuries, but have a narrow gap between them and rich, which would give them the motivation and hope that the gap can be crossed, and thus it is possible to move up the ladder, from poverty to affluence. However, the modern society is now telling the poor a story that is directly opposite of this hope and motivation. With the high gap that has opened between the rich and the poor in the past few decades, it is apparent that upward mobility for the poor is an uphill task. Therefore, with this knowledge that is such demoralizing to the poor, what do they do? They turn into living a life that is reminiscent of the affluent, through purchasing all the luxuries that they can manage, but the value of their real worth is tending to the negative. This is because, to afford such affluent lifestyles, the poor have turned into borrowing and accumulating debt. This way, the hope of the poor redeeming themselves diminishes with every passing day. Simply put, the book, Hard Work: Life in Low Pay Britain by Polly Toynbee has just disclosed to the society the true situation of the poor as worse, and the prospective of improving the status of the poor is just hopeless and unpromising. Reference Toynbee P. (2003). Hard Work: Life in Low-pay Britain. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. Read More

Thus, when four decades ago a television set and a mobile phone were the preserve of not just rich, but very rich in the case of a mobile phone, the same has turned out to be a necessity presently. But it easy to ask, Can a poor person afford to live without a phone presently? The answer is probably not on the affirmative. This is because, it is through the phone that the individual is able to connect with the work place and thus manoeuvre through job search and favourable working environment, with the limited connections the individual might have.

Therefore, living without a mobile phone would be simply tantamount to keeping the poor person in darkness, amidst poverty. Therefore, the major point that the book, Hard Work: Life in Low Pay Britain by Polly Toynbee is driving home, is the fact that; more than at any other time in the history of the world, the state must proactively engage with the issue of poverty. Nevertheless, there is a sharp contrast in the argument presented in the book, Hard Work: Life in Low Pay Britain by Polly Toynbee.

First, the book argues that the poor within the modern society are worse off economically, and thus poorer than the poor were four decades ago. On the other hand, the book presents evidence to the effect that presently, the poor in the society have access to luxuries that the poor in the past four decades could not access. The poor could not afford much luxury 40 years ago. Thus, they could not have television, refrigerators, heating and cooling systems in the house, or even better shoes to go work.

In this point, Polly Toynbee is absolutely correct. The poor in our generation are living a life that is reflective of a rich society, because they can definitely afford some luxuries that were only available to the poor several decades ago. If this is the case, why then, does Polly Toynbee argue that he poor in the modern society are poorer than the poor in the past? The answer to this can be found by the discovery that; while the society perceives poverty and the poor from the social status and economic perspective, Polly Toynbee sees the society from the eye of morality, ethics and egalitarianism.

While applying the same perspective, it would be very easy to understand her argument. Toynbee observes that the individuals who are undertaking the very critical and most hard jobs are just earning a paltry sum, while the crème of the society is earning a hundred times more, yet its work delivery and output is not as critical, with the “MPs earning more than 96% of the poor population” (Toynbee, 2003:6). This perhaps explains the reason why the state and authorities will continuously produce statistics and data to the effect that the modern society is better than the historical one, obviously basing their findings on the social status and lifestyle perspectives.

These perspectives will currently indicate that there is a higher percentage of the population that is able to afford luxuries, than it happened in the past. However, when the disparity between the rich and poor is assessed, it will prove that the rich have gotten richer more than the poor have been able to come out of poverty. In this respect, it can be conclusive to say that the main theme of book, Hard Work: Life in Low Pay Britain by Polly Toynbee, is to question the morality of the disparity existing between the rich and poor.

In the capitalist society, which the UK and majority of the global nations represent, the value of labour is not assessed on the basis of moral merit. The value of labour in the capitalist society is simply measured in terms of what the labour force is willing to exchange its labour services for. This willingness is further made a function of the ability to satisfy the basic human needs, such that the poor will always be ready and willing to offer very hard labour, in return for minimum wage that will just sustain their basic livelihoods.

However, the willingness and readiness displayed by the poor in this respect is not out of deliberate need to work hard, but solely due to the fact that they have little options open for them, other than to do the hard work.

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