23 AUGUST 1975, Page 5

National wealth

Sir: Nicholas Davenport, writing about the distribution of the national wealth, quotes the Royal Commission as arriving at a figure of 34.9 per cent of the national wealth being owned by 5 per cent of the population. May I ask if the national wealth has been divided between that owned by "the state" and that owned by the private sector?

I would like to suggest that over half the national wealth is owned by the state and that its proportion is growing, the reducing size of the private sector being more and more rigorously fought over.

It would appear to be a paradox of socialism that as one decreases the wealth of the rich, one increases the taxes of the poor.

Hepworth 1 South Beacon, Hadlow Down, Uckfield, Sussex