THE other night I went to the cinema and saw the Korean film 'Parasite'.

I won't spoil it for your readers by describing what takes place in it but basically it illustrates the wealth gap in the world. Even in the UK, 30% of us are experiencing life-changing results of poverty, mental and physical ill-health, homelessness, no properly paid work and hunger. In Korea where 'Parasite' was filmed and in the rest of the undeveloped world, the situation is far worse than here.

I thought it best to look up the definition of the word before someone accuses me of discrimination. From Wikipedia, a parasite ‘is an organism that lives in or on an organism of another species (its host) and benefits by deriving nutrients at the other's expense, e.g. ‘a parasite attaches itself to the mouths of fishes’.

In a derogatory sense,’ a parasite is a person who habitually relies on or exploits others and gives nothing in return, e.g. ‘the capitalist is really a parasite on the workers’.

We live in a world of the ‘haves’ and have-nots’.

You'd hardly believe we are all from the same species! The Tory party has historically labelled the poor and needy as ‘parasites’ who ‘live off the state’ when it can hardly ever have been true; apart from a tiny minority most people just want a fair living for a day’s work. Theresa May, always wanting to be seen either entering or leaving church, insisted help was 'conditional upon 'earning’ it. I don't see many billionaires setting that example. They mainly let us know how profligate they are. Incidentally, what is 'trickle down'? Wish I knew where to find it.

From the internet, nearly 30% of people aged 20-34 now have to live with their parents in order to survive. 675,000 are living in rented homes without basic household appliances, while paying extortionate rents. 4% are living without a fridge. Meanwhile, the UK State pays about £80 billion p.a., (75% of what we currently spend on the NHS) to already well-off landlords via Housing Benefit. Please tell me who is a parasite and who isn't.

It seems to me that a lot of people are 'feeding off' the State and the poor aren't feeding at all. The price of houses increases despite many being empty all week and if they are occupied, their tenants are regularly booted out so that rents can be increased accordingly. Do we urgently need a moral pesticide?

Social mobility in place of social climbing?

Mike Joslin

Dorchester