Correction (1981)

From the September 1981 issue of the Socialist Standard

In the October 1980 Socialist Standard and some subsequent issues, it was stated that less than one thousandth of the British population own eighty per cent of privately owned shares. This figure was taken from the CIS report The Wealthy, and is incorrect. They say that one per cent of shareholders own eighty per cent of the shares, whereas it is in fact one per cent of the population. (Only seven per cent of the population are shareholders.) The correct figure can be found in Class in a Capitalist Society by J. Westergaard and H. Resler, Penguin, page 158. They use Inland Revenue Statistics to show how one hundredth of the population own over eighty per cent of shares. We apologise for the error, although we have the impression that most of our readers are in the ninety-three per cent without a single share to their name, in any case.