Everyone is equal but some are more equal than others: Art, Autocracy and why your individualism matters

June 1980. Unemployment in the United Kingdom reaches a postwar high of 1.6 million.

Thatcherite neoliberalism has begun to sink its claws into the everyday life of the working

family. Major industries across the country take a nosedive, forced to whittle and break down

under this new brand of conservatism.

Peter Hook, Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris and Ian Curtis. The four members of the outfit ‘Joy

Division’, who with their hit single ‘love will tear us apart’, were to become the next working-

class phenomenon to explode out of northern England. They would also not be the last, the

successive decades seeing a number of similar bands from similar backgrounds follow suit. A

golden age of British working-class art and culture, shaped by creative expression being used

as a tool of liberation from a government that treat struggle with contempt.

December 2025. Wealth inequality in the Uk has grown to unprecedented levels, with the gap

between the richest 10% and the poorest 10% widening by 54% between 2011 and 2021. Whilst

the wealthy reap the benefits of the age of affluence, with profits and shareholder gains

transgressing what once thought possible, the lower percentiles crawl on their hands and

knees through austerity and budget cuts. Whilst the guise of political democracy is upheld,

economic democracy seems like a far-off dream. The autocrats of the means of production

laugh as the status quo tares itself apart.

Fewer than 1 in 10 workers in the UK arts sector come from a working-class background.

Individuals with privileged upbringings, particularly those who have received a private

education, are more than twice as likely to succeed in the creative industries. Year after year,

awards ceremonies like the Brits have increasingly become a who’s who of the nation’s public-

school circuit. Meanwhile, grassroots arts and the spaces facilitating it fight a total wipeout.

“A kid where I’m from can’t afford to tour – there are probably thousands writing songs that are

better than mine, poignant lyrics about the country, but they will not be seen because it’s

rigged” – Sam Fender, 2025.

For many, the decline of cultural output we are witnessing in ordinary, working Britain has its

roots in a growing disinterest in the arts. We, for better or worse, are the social media

generation. Our art and creative innovation has been sidelined for like buttons, trends and

dissipating attention spans. What has emerged from this to the dismay of many is a culture of

uniformity. Uniform ideas on social issues, music, fashion, and politics. Intellectualism and

creative ingenuity have been sidelined for what will be popular amongst the masses.

Commodification and demand cycles rules all. The idea of slowness in your approach to

anything seems ludicrous. We have become a society dominated by a need to consume, and to

consume fast. Now, you don’t even need a spin doctor or a strong campaign to sway public

opinion. You just need a competent social media team.

Whilst all this holds a level of significance, a deeper and much more institutional problem lies

beneath the surface. Undoubtedly, there is a distinct lack of opportunity in the arts for the

working classes. Since 2010, arts funding in the Uk has seen a relentless continuum of budget

cuts. Between 2010 and 2015 alone, support for Arts Council England was reduced by 30%.

From 2010 to now, local government funding for the arts has seen a 50% decline in real terms,with arts and music departments in state schools across the country rapidly vanishing, starved

of the teachers and resources needed to properly substantiate themselves. We are gradually

moving towards a society where art has become an asset of the privileged. For those from

working class backgrounds, who received ordinary, and sometimes far worse than ordinary

educations, art has become inaccessible. Financially, with ever increasing rents and living

costs, a life spent making art is unfeasible. Essentially, in our modern Britain, the only people

who can make art are the ones who can afford to. Those bankrolled by the ever-deep pockets of

Mum and Dad.

On a broader scale, we are witnessing a cultural purge. Increasingly we are seeing the breeding

grounds of bands like the Beatles, Joy Division, the Smiths, disappear from our cultural

landscape. More and more grassroots venues, youth clubs, concert halls and night clubs face

closure each week. We are slowly witnessing the phasing out of these centers of expression

that working class youth once thrived in. What we are seeing erected in their place are mass

commercial institutions set on drowning out the cries of individualism. The truth of the matter is

that the talent is there. It always has been, and it always will be. The issue is that if talent is not

supported with resources and funding, the talent will not succeed. If the talent does not have

any places to go express themselves, to learn and refine their ability and skills, the talent will

also not succeed.

A society where bottom-up creative expression has become extinct is a scary one. I’ll let you

draw your own conclusions on the likes of whom that would benefit. One of the key proponents

of autocracy is an eradication of culture and the arts. Hitler’s burning of the books, Stalin’s

purging of Russian writers, Pinochet’s torture and exile of muralists. This brand of control is

textbook authoritarianism. Do not let the vail and pretense of democracy fool you. Dark times

are ahead. Top-down creative expression only benefits those who seek to oppress us. The

privileged milieu of trust fund artists will never be radical enough to propose the reform we will

need. Everyone will be equal, but conveniently some will be more equal than others. Always

viewing the most pressing issues facing the nation from a safe, untouched viewpoint.

The likelihood is, the way things are going, we won’t see another Beatles or Joy Division in our

time. Art will never again be a tool for social elevation or protest. Wealth inequality will continue

to grow and with that working class artists will become scarce, and finally extinct. Working

class art has been Britain’s greatest export. Not cars or machinery and certainly not Empire. Be

proud of our cultural heritage – not our imperialism, not our wealth divide and our social

injustice. We must discuss these things, if anything, just to remind the world they still matter.

One man or woman cannot instruct change alone. They must have a community. Do not let

working class art die