Is there now a lack of personal responsibility?

[niknak1234]

Is there now a lack of personal responsibility?

Another thread inspired me to ask this question.

Now don't get me wrong there have been events over the last few years that have increased the cost of living. COVID, Truss budget, Ukraine/Russia, Iran etc.

Now I am by no means denying they haven't had a big impact, but are people using them to avoid failings in their lives?

Well, their shenanigans will affect certain markets but what’s that got to do with getting out of the house and finding a job?

Nothing.

How is not working in a local school “not taking responsibility for yourself”? One presumes these people are working to earn an income for themselves right?

I am also not sure how accurate your “history of village schooling” is…?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_education_in_England

This thread is silly. Of course politics affects people's lives and options.

Was always the same, and people have always discussed it.

Anyone who thinks life is ONLY about 'personal responsibility' doesn't understand the world at all.

Well blaming everyone else doesn’t really change much.

There have always been people with a similar outlook, lifting random posts off a message forum is one person, perhaps a handful who agree, none of which you can actually verify.

If you know people in real life who say this it might be worth engaging in a conversation to see if you could offer an alternative viewpoint, which might, just might in the long run help contribute to them removing their victimhood mentality. Which would do everyone a bit of good.

I don't think anybody has said that.

If the number of advertised job vacancies drops as a result of a global economic shock?

Nobody said there was affects.

I’m not sure whether I agree or not really.

Yes, I think we need to take responsibility for our own choices and situation. But on the other hand my husband is a financial adviser and in the last 3 weeks has had many clients having to come out of deals, rates changing literally overnight with the cost of an average £200k mortgage jumping up in some case by £300-400 a month- that’s a huge jump.

If you’d spent the last year saving a deposit and planning for a certain house price as being affordable and now all of a sudden it’s not as a result of these hikes, I’m not sure how you could have planned for that to avoid it?

I think life is much harder today than it was for my parents who could easily buy a house in the 70s on a single teacher’s salary. Wouldn’t be the case today.

Sorry, I don't fully understand what this comment means.

In the 1970's approx 55% of people owned their own property.

In 2026 it's 64%.

In my opening post I admitted that COVID, Truss budget etc affected matters, but that doesn't negate personal responsibility.

It’s partly the fault of the Left. The Left pretty much run academia, publishing, the BBC and the arts, and they have taught people that if they’re poor they’re victims. And of course ‘victims’ don’t have any responsibilities. If you steal or smash things up, then that’s understandable, because you are expressing anger at the evil ‘system’. And if you are rude and foul-mannered, well, that’s good too because it shows you are ‘keepin it real’ and not imitating the middle-class. It has bred a revolting sense of victimhood and entitlement.

Today you win the internet.

What percentage were in secure lifelong tenancies vs private rented?

And what was the average cost of housing as a percentage of average income?

You really shouldn't cherry pick stats.

Absolutely agree with you.

The OP's view seems quite simplistic.

If there are effects from national/international politics, then you can't exercise personal responsibility.

I didn't cherry pick. Less people owned in the 70's than they do today.

I disagree.

I've noticed that some of the people complaining about lack of personal responsibility, are deep down sad that they themselves have had to face some big challenges without support.

I know this because I used to be one of them. I have every sympathy.

I think people always have, and still do, try to do the best for themselves and their families. I also think it's important to notice and complain about governments when neccesary.

But I also think there's an amount of over-negativity sometimes, blinding people to what's actually possible. Eg lots of people say they could never buy a house in my area. It's true the average price here is very high, but there are many small houses that are well below that. My house is one of them.

Some people even say they could never afford a house in my whole city! (Bristol) But their budget is £200,000 - £250,000. There's 123 of them for sale right now on rightmove.

I think it's either a cry for support/sympathy (fair enough) or they feel it's very grown up and mature to be negative, which they call "realistic".

In that case yes, it’s lack of personal responsibility. Too easy to give up

Your stat is meaningless on its own.
There has been massive change in the whole housing ecosystem since the 70s.

Yes see it in workplaces too. People blaming poor performance/misconduct on things like ADHD /menopause and not taking any responsibility for themselves. Or going off with “mental health” to avoid disciplinary action/performance management

Especially in civil service.