I also agree OP.
There is a massive increase in division and the blame game at the moment, and while I advocate for people taking personal responsibility to improve their lot in life or at the least avoiding obviously bad decisions, this is becoming exceptionally hard when the system we live under actively puts obstacles in peoples way.
The government and politicians individually do a less than stellar job of leading by example - PPs have covered recent fiascos, and the lack of accountability is astonishing. It entrenches the view that rich people can wriggle out of things because their capital value is worth more than their morals. The only trickle down from that is that those at the bottom of the heap have justifiable resentment compounded and they also take on the attitude of "Every man for himself".
At the risk of sounding hyperbolic or generalising too much, our capitalist system is a free for all for some at the top, but at the bottom there is so much bureaucracy attached to daily life that starting with nothing and working one's way to the top is a Sisyphian task which can see one back at the bottom of the hill on the whims of "the market" or sudden technological advancement. Advocates of personal responsibility and resilience never have an answer to the question how many times should a person flog their dead horse before they realise it really isn't going to win the race. There is sometimes almost an element of magical thinking or belief in "manifestation" if every avenue taken turns out to be a dead end.
Much is made of the virtues of hard work regardless of reward, for ones own self esteem and pride, but if you still end your life poor, cold, hungry and at the mercy of the state, it's still apparently your own fault, and I do wonder if that internal glow is truly enough.
I agree with the idea a PP had above regarding career politicians who have never really lived or worked outside the sphere. I have said before that while I was growing up and becoming aware of politics, (I'm 52) I remember most politicians were older people who had come to their parties after or during careers in the real world. They weren't necessarily glossy and well-presented. They stood up for the values of their parties and were often controversial, but from my memory weren't as apparently self serving as some are today. There was an episode of Black Mirror about a career politician who just switched parties to keep their career on track - nothing to do with their beliefs or principles, just determination to survive in their chosen sphere regardless of the wider implications. While I accept one shouldn't accept fiction as fact, the resonance was definitely there for me.
It is little wonder that conspiracy theories flourish in this febrile climate around government actions and policies - during this pandemic, as others have mentioned, there have been numerous questionable actions across the board - PPE contracts, Track and Trace fiasco etc etc. The one time that politicians and policy makers had an opportunity handed to them by the quirks of nature and fate to truly show a united front and bring the populace into the fold, they have failed spectacularly.
I started a thread about the chap recently profiled in the Guardian who got a bonus equivalent to earning £1 million a day in the financial sector - yes he is a philanthropist who has donated to charity and invested in Extinction Rebellion (which is another can of worms altogether) but the fact that moving money from one place to another is rewarded so generously, while HCPs and nurses who actively save lives and do a hard, dirty and emotionally taxing job are being offered a paltry 1% pay rise, after being applauded as frontline fighters against Covid, really highlights how rotten and inequitable our country has become.
Last time I looked on that thread, it was mentioned how he would have had to pay 40 - 50% tax on his income at that level. Forgive me if I'm wrong but I believe that there are many, many ways to minimise ones tax bill if you have that amount of money. Shell companies, off shore accounts, investments etc. And if influential people, perhaps in government, are your shareholders and investors and directors, perhaps you have an advantage that can be exploited legally through perfectly legal loopholes.
As automation and online trading move on apace, those at the lower end of society and unable to keep up will find themselves forced into working more and more for big companies which will grow, and which are often all part of a bigger umbrella corporation. Certain dystopian films are starting to look more and more like a road map for the future. The high street is in its death throes, profit maximisation for the benefit of those at the top is the primary goal, and the rest of us run round like dutiful little worker ants supposed to be grateful for any crumbs of assistance thrown at them.
And so I come to my final issue - the benefits system, supposedly a safety net and not designed as a lifestyle choice. The number of people committing actual fraud is tiny in comparison to benefits unclaimed. The system is overly bureaucratic, subject to changes not well explained or publicised and can trap people in it. It penalises the disabled horrifically, and the outsourcing of some aspects to private companies was just a recipe for disaster as has been proven by people being declared fit for work when they are dying or even dead. And again, little accountability.
Most people do want to work, feel productive, contribute - as jobs become more precarious working one's way up becomes again, Sisyphean task. The toll of this on mental health contributes to rising numbers of those unable to work, not unwilling, just unable.
If you tell people they are "entitled to benefits" and they apply, telling them off for it is like offering a child an ice cream and telling them off for accepting it - which would be considered child abuse by most. I in no way mean to infantilise people by using that analogy, but psychologically battering people with conflicting messages and offering support that is not fit for purpose - outdated, outsourced "training programmes" with no guarantee of self-improvement will leave people feeling defeated and paralysed.
Sorry about the rant, TLDR you're right OP.