‘Povertyism’ and the modern zeitgeist

Sir, – In seeking to make discrimination of the basis of socioeconomic status illegal, Jim Clarkin and Olivier De Schutter appear to be in tune with the modern zeitgeist of trying to ban things they don’t like with unrealistic laws (“Povertyism needs to be taken as seriously as racism and sexism”, Opinion & Analysis, May 9th).

With regards to socioeconomic status, it is not possible to know a person’s individual circumstances. In modern practice, though, were such a law in place, anyone conducting interviews could be accused of holding such an attitude. Should they point out they didn’t know the individual’s financial circumstances, the trump card of unconscious bias would serve to incriminate them, against which there is no defence. Even the Thought Police limited their remit to conscious cognition; this would rapidly go beyond Orwellian into the Kafkaesque world of being accused of something against which you could offer no plausible defence nor even address the charges. In conducting interviews one must accept some applicant or group of them and refuse others.

A lot might be achieved by enforcing laws that already exist, rather than introducing new ones that will never be applied. – Yours, etc,

BRIAN O’BRIEN,