Britain\u2019s pubs can be busy, football grounds can be full, and airports can be crowded while millions of people are still struggling to pay for life\u2019s essentials.<\/p>\n
The cost-of-living crisis has not disappeared simply because some people cannot see it.<\/p>\n
Britain remains a wealthy country, but that wealth and the incomes it generates are very unevenly distributed. Some people can still afford football tickets, meals out and foreign holidays. Others are struggling with housing costs, energy bills, food and transport. Both things can be true at exactly the same time.<\/p>\n
And when it comes to visibility, there is another issue to consider. Spending does not necessarily indicate financial security. People use savings, credit cards and debt to maintain their lifestyles when their incomes no longer cover their costs. A pint in a pub or a week abroad tells us very little about someone\u2019s underlying financial resilience.<\/p>\n
Political economy asks us to look beyond these superficial signs of prosperity. Who isn\u2019t at the football match? Who cannot afford the pub? Who isn\u2019t travelling through the airport?<\/p>\n
Those missing people matter.<\/p>\n
The cost-of-living crisis is an inequality crisis. If we want to understand what is happening in Britain, we need to look at those who have become economically invisible, not just those we can still see spending.<\/p>\n