February 26, 2021
A Recipe for Inequality
By Isobel Duxfield (words) and Oliver Marr (artwork)
- Place your global capitalist system, patriarchy, and structural racism in a bowl. Beat together well.
- At this point do not forget to add white privilege, found at most good stores. This binds all the ingredients together; the mixture tends to fall apart otherwise. Add and beat well.
- Now, you will need to separate the poor. First, add one Conservative government: this is your raising agent. Filter mixture through a safety net. Slowly slice holes in the netting allowing the lowest incomes to fall through and keep cutting until the net is totally gone.
- Place what is left in the mixing bowl, brushing the remnants under the carpet.
- The mixture will need to be reduced further. This can be done by adding your multinational enterprises: these will soak up the elite, eliminating those who did not have access to higher education.
- Once achieved, place over heat.
- At this point some of the mixture may begin to bubble up — this often occurs when some agents try to redistribute wealth around the pan. A pinch of populism usually does the trick.
- Whip it up using false migration statistics and xenophobic nationalism — these can be sourced from most tabloids. This diverts heat away from the main ingredients, masking their aroma. It will also add that bitter aftertaste we are looking to create.
- Don’t forget to crank up house prices by 12 percent per year — you want to get them to at least thirteen times the median annual salary. This ensures all those relying on housing benefit simmer over the lip, move out of the frying pan, and into the fire.
- With a spoon, scrape off the remains and discard.
- Grease a baking tin with your Universal Credit system.
- Pour the mixture into the tin and sprinkle (neo) liberally with a large gender pay gap. This is optional but provides a fantastic brittle finish.
- Cook for five years. When ready, it should be Tory blue, and smell of despair and broken promises.
- Dust with another four years of austerity.
- Serve cold.
Top tip: If stored in an air-tight box, inequality retains its original shape for decades — even centuries!
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Isobel Duxfield works for European sustainability forum, POLIS Network, and is a freelance journalist and “poet” (air quotes intended). She received her MA in Multi-Disciplinary Gender Studies from Cambridge University, and writes about environmental and human rights issues.
Oliver Marr was born in South Africa and recently received his MPhil in Sustainable Development from the University of Cambridge. He is currently based in London working as an artist focusing on the relationship between nature and the built environment. He is also a freelance illustrator and has experience in sustainability consulting and the circular economy.
