The lies of meritocratic Britain

In England after the Norman Conquest the worst insults you could throw were class insults. So long has feudal prejudice survived that we unconsciously echo the Anglo-Norman aristocracy when we use ‘villainous’ (from villien) and ‘churlish’ (from ‘churl’).

The churl of the 1300s might have reflected that, however miserable his life, it was not his fault that he had been born into servitude. His suffering was the result of an unjust society not a real reflection of his worth. No one shouts ‘churl’ or ‘rustic’ or ‘villien’ today.  We live in a meritocratic country and feudalism is long gone except for a few gaudy spectacles around the monarch. So they shout ‘loser’ instead.

Everyone had a chance, today’s elite implies. Everyone was behind the same starting line in the race for the top. You fought and you lost. You’ve no one to blame but yourself.  From ‘Tory’ to ‘suffragette’, history is full of insults that have been appropriated by their targets.