Summary
The “Bank of Mum and Dad” is a significant force behind modern inequality, fostering an “inheritocracy” in which access to opportunities is dictated by family wealth rather than personal achievement.
This financial support, often viewed as a safety net, undermines social mobility and reinforces a system where success is shaped more by inheritance than by merit.
Rising housing costs, wage stagnation, and unequal inheritance have entrenched this dynamic, with parental support shaping life milestones like homeownership, career paths, and education.
While early inheritances advantage some, the burden of social care costs threatens others’ expectations.
This growing reliance on family wealth, especially among millennials, exacerbates inequality within and across generations, highlighting the need for a broader societal conversation about privilege and fairness.
Yeah I get that but there have been three notable times where there was a great opportunity to pull yourself and your family out of the bottom economic stratas. Just after the Plagues in Europe when 1/3rd the population was effectively erased. The colonial eras where you were allowed to massacre some natives and take their land. And the post world war 2 era in the US and countries that were hit very hard (mainland Europe and China/Japan mostly).
What we’re seeing now is the end of one of these incredibly rare eras when the economic mobility is so great you can actually work your way up the ranks.
The good news is we’ve got the ability now to recognize it and try to pull it back the other way. We don’t have to bow to the church and news travels at the speed of light.