Pierre Bourdieu's analysis of the role of education in the reproduction of social inequality challenges Nick Clegg's belief that he was "lucky" in life. Luck, says the French sociologist, has nothing to do with it. Just 10 years after his death, Mr Bourdieu's work is already a classic to rank alongside Foucault or Lacan. The recent publication of his courses at the Collège de France has put his name back into the headlines. In contrast to those who trumpet self-determination, Mr Bourdieu focuses on the forces which shape an individual. If Mr Clegg really wants to "factor social mobility into the education system", he must recognise that the difference between success and failure is not luck but the ways in which social inequalities repeat themselves. The role of government is to break this vicious circle not to reinforce it. The drastic shrinking of the state is hardly the way to remedy what Mr Clegg called an absolute scandal.