THE letter by B Jackson about social classes (HAS, May 20) hit the nail on the head in a quite succinct way.

History teaches us that as soon as a nation embraces the ethos of “I’m all right Jack” it is on to the slippery slope.

We have reached the point where selfishness and selfobsession are the norm. Traits like cheating, lying, hating and not caring for the most vulnerable members of society are applauded and encouraged when they used to be frowned upon.

Both ends of the wealth scale practise deceit.

The very rich avoid paying tax at every opportunity, even though they could never spend the money they already have in several lifetimes, some of the poor claim benefits they know they don’t qualify for.

It seems that getting something for nothing, no matter how you achieve it, is considered a good thing and only fools work hard. Maybe the nation would benefit by turning back to God?

S Pope, Durham