How do classes look in Australia?
Australia should be a classless society..right?
- Class struggle is alive and well in Australia
- Support and avenues for opportunity
- People will not change unless: uncomfortable enough in current situation or if can realistically see change
- entrenched attitude within generations
COSMOPOLITANS
- One-third of the earliest wealthy in Australia were ex-convicts
- Australia's social welfare system = economic level playing field
- Free education, tax the rich, offer concession rates on a wide range of everyday living items to the unemployed, pensioners and those with low incomes
- Tertiary-educated and articulate
- Importance of education and social moderation of behaviour and attitudes
BLEND OF BOTH
- Blend of both broad categories
- Immediate thoughts (eg. where they live / where they went to school.
- Ja'mie - comes from a wealthy, well educated background, but has little tolerance for those outside her own "class" but tries to fit in with mock acceptance
HISTORICALLY
PAROCHIALS
- Approve conventional gender roles
- Attribute violence and social dysfunction to individual choices more than social forces
- Agricultural and industrial economies
- Generally uncertain about jobs
wealthy class
- owned the factories, the farms and the businesses
underclass
- people who worked for them
Marxian view
- classes distinguished by who creates wealth in society, who owns it, and in whose interest political power is exercised.
In Australia is class
determined by wealth?
STATISTICS
- World's fifth-most unequal developed nation
- Estimated 100,000 homeless people
- Nearly one in three adult Australians now receive some form of government income support
- In 2003, a study found 86% of shares were held by the wealthiest 10% of families
- The top 20% of Australians owned 72% of all property and the bottom 50% owned less than 2%
- The richest 20% of Australians can expect to live an average of six years longer than the poorest 20%
Can we consider Australia a 'classless society?'