Archbishops of York and Canterbury say in book of essays that entire towns and regions have been excluded since Thatcher era

The Church of England has launched a scathing attack on inequality, arguing that Britain has been dominated by “rampant consumerism and individualism” since the Thatcher era, and that some regions have been left behind in the current recovery.

In an intervention months before May’s general election, the archbishops of Canterbury and York argue in a book of essays that the economy appears to be a tale of two cities.

Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, says “entire towns and regions” have been excluded and “trapped in an apparently inescapable economic downward spiral”.

“Our economy appears to be, in one sense, a tale of two cities – one being a growing and constantly improving London (and the south-east generally), and the other being most, but not all, other cities, alike in that they are each trapped in apparently inevitable decline,” he says, adding that spending cuts have helped widen that gap.

“The hard truth is that many of these cities are in what appear to be lose-lose situations. Already in decline, the road towards recovery and growth is made even more difficult. There are now fewer readily available government resources able to support economic development in these regions; and also, since the 1980s, the banking system has become more and more London concentrated and consequently out of touch with local needs.”

The book of essays, to be published next week, is edited by the archbishop of York, John Sentamu. On Rock or Sand? has unmistakable echoes of Faith in the City, the Church of England report published 30 years ago that infuriated the Conservatives, who denounced it as “pure Marxist theology”.

Sentamu praises the 1985 report as a “courageous witness” to Christian values, and laments how the church lost its nerve in the face of “savage attack” from the Thatcher government.

In a three-and-a-half-minute YouTube video to accompany the book, Sentamu likens the UK economy to a household, claiming that no one member should have too much when another has too little.

“It would be quite a pity if the powerful, the richest, are the ones that are thriving in our household and some are left behind and therefore one of the greatest challenges that faces our nation has to do with income inequality … The giant that must be slayed is income inequality – where some few have far too much and the many have too little.”

The book advocates a new redistribution of wealth, quoting the slogan popularised by Karl Marx: “From each according to his resources, to each according to his need.”

Sentamu told the Daily Telegraph that his message was unrepentantly leftwing: “That sounds extremely leftwing doesn’t it? The truth is it is the theology of where I am coming from. If God has created us unique, [and] all of us have got his image and likeness, is it ever right that I should have more when somebody else has nothing?”

In his essay, he insists that far from shying away from politics, the church is impelled to intervene on issues such as poverty. “Like the Old Testament prophets, I suggest, it is essential for religion to speak truth to power,” he writes.

Sentamu criticises what he calls “rampant consumerism and individualism” embodied by events such as Black Friday. “This marrying of justice and self-interest is deeply unfashionable in a political scene where parties rush to outdo each other in enticing and beguiling the swing vote of Middle England not with a vision of justice but with appeals to individual preference, interest and consumer choice,” he told the Telegraph.

“If it is the survival of the fittest, that’s what I call living in the jungle and I don’t want to live in the jungle – this is supposed to be a civilised society. It is nothing to do with being socialist or whatever. What it has got to do with is, is this how God created us? Has he created us to be people who go to Black Friday to fight with each other because they want the biggest bargain? No, that’s the rule of the jungle, we left that behind.”

The book, which includes essays from Lord Adonis, a Labour peer, and Andrew Sentance, formerly a member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee, characterises the welfare state as the embodiment of the Christian command to “love thy neighbour” and criticises spending cuts that have helped widen the gap between rich and poor.

“Britain achieved a National Health Service which became a model for Europe and the rest of the world,” writes Sentamu. “Moreover, the United Kingdom in the welfare state has provided income and support to those who are sick, unemployed or incapacitated in many other ways.

“And we have developed an educational system to provide a free and full education for all primary and secondary school pupils. Have we lost this vision? For me, and I’m sure for many others, a major concern is the extent to which the social compact which the welfare state represented is now under threat.”

Pope Francis has also strongly attacked inequality. In April, a day after he canonised Pope John Paul II, he tweeted that inequality was the root of social evil.