Errr - you are aware that many of the connections those rich people make are during their time at school, do you not?
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You continually state that correlation is not causation, yet you've not made any attempt to show that there is no correlation between public school and high office. And simply repeating "correlation is not causation" doesn't make the grade, I'm afraid.
Do you think that if you ban private education, these people will not mix socially anyway?
These people already have the social connections, in the absence of forming them in private schools, they will form them in a variety of other way - including in their exclusive "state" school, selected by your ability to pay the whopping great mortgage within the catchment areas. You won't have young Tarquin's going down to the local comp, mixing with Bradley from the council estate.
Connections made at private school is an infinitesimal part of the reason why people who went to private schools dominate our society.
- Their parents tend to be members of the elite and already have connections and access that will give them enhanced options.
- Their parents are naturally pushier than average, keen for their children to succeed (this is not to say private parents are 'better' just that there is a selection bias).
- Their parents are involved and invested in their children's education
- They have far greater access to educational tools at home (including trips to museums etc)
- The education is better and more rounded, there is an emphasis on academic rigour yet also on a variety of sporting and musical activities. Well educated people naturally rise in society.
- Privately educated people are more likely to attend an elite university, due to their academic success and familiarity with entrance procedures.
- "Achieved a 1st at Oxford" looks a lot better on a CV than "Got a 2.1 from a former Polytechnic" which will impress employers and constituency party associations alike.
Ed Miliband is not the leader of the Labour party because of the school he went to, but because of the environment in which he was raised and the connections of his parents. Given his background, he was always likely to be involved in politics. His parents had connections, they were pushy and involved, he had incredible access to the very elite of our society, he was surrounded by intellectuals and learning and he went to a top state school in a very fancy area, he interned in the office of Tony Benn and he went to Oxford.
half?! That is an extraordinary statistic. You may wish to compare that to the general population (which is very much lower).
It is indeed - but I was disputing the contention that the Cabinet is stuffed with old Etonians and the problem is getting worse. "Only" was in comparison to previous Tory governments.
It is getting worse across the rest of society (media, legal profession etc) and it is an increasingly problem in the Labour party, but the fact that the PM went to Eton is a distraction. The reason it is getting worse is nothing to do with private schools or connections made there (it would always have been thus) it is due to the quality of state education - particularly the fact that it holds back gifted and more intelligent pupils.
But we're straying somewhat from the OP - and risking being sent to Coventry CAD! I'll suggest that it's more important to send your children to a good school than a private one. And state schools can be be very good indeed: I was lucky enough to go to a good one. By "good" I don't just mean the quality of the teachers or facilities, it's also a matter of having the right environment which is conducive to learning.
If you are lucky enough to find (and manage to get into) a state school like this, yes.
