Leisure revolution
Sir: May I draw attention to another kind of differential between the income groups? Ever since the Industrial Revolution, lowpaid workers have had to rely on overtime to bolster basic pay. This in turn left little spare time for other interests, especially those needing concentrated effort. This is best illustrated by examples in the field of education and the arts. When the Open University was formed ten years ago, it was hailed as a great leveller. Despite concerted efforts to enrol manual workers, the vast majority of students have come from the middle class. Even the Workers' Educational Association has become a middle-class institution, having departed long ago from the dream of its founders to pioneer adult education primarily for those who work by hand.
Some years ago Mr Arnold Wesker was unable to gain trade union support for an imaginative scheme for bringing festivals of drama, music, etc to their members and their families. As more manual operations become automated, the number of leisure days in a week may well exceed the working days. With the added factor of workers retiring earlier, the Leisure Revolution will then replace the Industrial Revolution. Perhaps Mr Wesker was ahead of his time? I hope he can be persuaded to try again in the 1980s.
Ian Hyman 20 Constable Road, Norwich.
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