Selina Todd

Selina Todd, professor of modern history at Oxford University, examines her book Snakes and Ladders: The Great British Social Mobility Myth, detailing how conventional sociological metrics predominantly focus on male career trajectories while obscuring the distinct economic realities, domestic responsibilities, and systemic barriers routinely faced by women and migrant communities. The discussion evaluates how the ideology of meritocracy functions as an unattainable myth and an inherently zero-sum construct, wherein a strictly competitive hierarchy naturally consigns certain groups to the bottom while elites engage in opportunity hoarding. The dialogue critically analyses the profound impacts of the contemporary housing crisis, emphasising how exorbitant market costs and the widespread privatisation of public council housing have severely compromised financial stability even for trained professionals. Furthermore, the conversation highlights the crucial, yet routinely undervalued, labour contributions made by women and migrant workers across essential public sectors like healthcare. Finally, Todd challenges the prevailing neoliberal critique that comprehensive welfare provisions stifle individual drive, asserting instead that a reliable, robust social safety net ultimately provides the necessary security to foster genuine innovation, economic resilience, and long-term human flourishing.