Do we have a culture of entitlement?

I say neither the rich nor the poor in this country have; Christina Patterson disagrees. Our debate was posted yesterday in the Notebook and Eagle Eye sections of Independent blogs. Pitch in.

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• porkfright

  No, we don’t have a culture of entitlement to Democracy in this country. We have no written constitution and we are effectively ruled by vested interests through the Oxbridge stranglehold on top jobs in whichever government is in power.

• Toocleverbyhalf

  Never mind the rich or the poor, what about all the British people in the middle? They mostly seem to subscribe to a culture of entitlement. Always moaning about poor public services but refusing to stump up the taxes necessary to pay for them.

• http://twitter.com/francessmith frances smith

  it depends how you define entitlement. back in elizabethan times a cottager, who was an agricultural worker would be, by law, entitled to a cottage with 4 acres of land.

  seems to me, that in comparison to that the current benefits system is a bit stingy.

  of course the enclosures act ended that, so history is not as kind to the tories as they think it is, when they claim that the welfare state is a modern concept, back then people were aware that leaving someone to starve would send you to hell.

  unfortunately the tory right now seem to think that it will get them into heaven.

  i think its about time they started to see how little they have to give, and be a bit grateful more demands aren’t made.

  time for reparations for stolen property under the enclosures act, if they want to end welfare we want our common land back.