Quite!
Ms Burchill wears a very public bag of chips on each shoulder and obviously takes way too much salt with them. A pity, cos she is one of the most readable "commentators" around.
However she is not so much a member of the working class as the sneering class. Her stance as regards so many things is a cop out, more often masked by (admittedly very well written) bluster and attitude. She also patronises and insults the very people she purports to champion. She certainly confuses the working classes (i.e. most of us wage slaves or small self-employed concerns), many of whom are not poor and most of whom are not stupid and are capable of forming their own opinions, with a residual underclass whom we are obviously meant to indulge.
It is also a fact of life that most successful movements rely on people who have the money, time, influence and organisational ability to get their point across over a period of time. Think of the housing and health movement of the 19th century - Chadwick, Shaftsbury, Peabody - whose work ultimately transformed the living conditions of millions of people, but who as far as I am aware didn't work 14 hr factory shifts or needed recourse to the workhouse. I've no doubt they were preachy, condescending and knew what was best for the masses who had not the money, the clout or the time for direct action. So what?
Monbiot is also bang on the money when he says that it's not the likes of him (or Burchill) who will be the first to suffer if the environment does go totally tits up. In this regard Julie and George's money and instinct for self-preservation will render their class allegiences and their differences meaningless.
Time for my medication now.
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