Is Australia a Class Society? If so, in what sense?

Author: admin

9 Feb

Introduction

Australia, historically was founded on the notion of a land deviod of class, as equal opportunity for all existed on a country newly born on mispercieved terra nullis. Settlers came as convicts from overcrowded prisons in England and was brought to an entirely new land and a new beginning. Beyond that there was a rigid class division, involving at one level, the transported convicts, at the other level, the military and administrative colonial masters. In every society on earth, whereever and whenever in time, class distinctions are naturally drawn as part of the human nature. Much more so in a capitalist and highly individualistic society than others. This essay will argue that Australia is indeed a class society, however much hidden behind the façade of much paraded “Egalitarian Australia” and Australia is not an society totally deviod of class divisions as history demonstrates and therefore relinquishes its “egalitarian” discription but in relative comparison to other developed and developing countries around the world, it retains a high position in terms of egalitarity.

Egalitarian means the act of “Affirming, promoting, or characterized by belief in equal political, economic, social, and civil rights for all people.” (Dictionary.com 2004). In other words, an egalitarian society equals a classless society.

“A social class can be trivially defined by a set of people who share an indentifyable characteristic- wealth, red hair, deplorable morals, a taste for new beer. Characteristics such as wealth power and prestige, which imply some wort of hierachy and allow to or more categories to be discovered on top of one another.”(Connell 1980). Sociallogists have prefered to use the term: social stratification. This essay will prove that Australia is a society historically divided by wealth, gender and steroetyping.

Historically

Throughout the years after the arrival of the first fleet in 1788, and as the population grew, social divisions in the colony started to appear. Colonists consisted of people from different ethnic backgrounds and conditions. Ethnically, they consisted of English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, Jews and a mixture of free settlers. Over a period of years, the population was well increased to form a recognizable large collection of colonies and a clear social structure. The 19th century birthed the concept of elitism versus democracy, where wealthy settlers tried to emulate society in the United Kingdom and create a local aristocracy. Divisions could then be seen as the middle-class organization took form, in representation of the business people. Sectarian divisions also came out from this period where English Anglicans isolated themselves and conflict took form between Protestant and Catholic faithfulls. The division based on faith was reinforced by the founding of many schools based on denomination therefore instilling the meaning of difference in people at a young age. This culture has continued till today with the existence of Catholic Schools which have teaching methods and traditions different from public government schools.

Class divisions are common in capitalist countries, and so much so confirmed in Australia, a democratic free market society. During the 19th century, “There were two structures being produced at the same time. Which were not entirely compatible. One was the sharply polarised structure centered on the assigment relation in the pastorial industry, the other the much less polarised structure centered on mercantile capital capital and small production in the towns and gradually extending as wage-labor relations in the primary industries.” (Connell 1980). There were divisions forming between the rulling class and working class. As classes formed during these periods, interaction between people of different backgrounds became limited. The ruling class in effect appears as the elite and has a deeply rooted position and power in the basic institutions of the society. “Together with the legislatures and the public service, these are the main organizations of the capitalist state, which maintains social order in which the ruling class is dominant”. (Connell 1980)

During the periods between 1890 and 1910, class division was again confirmed with the emergance of the Labor party which represented the labor working class and the Liberal Party, which represented the entrepenuer and capitalist class after Federation. However, a voting democracy never equaled equal opportunity. “Most newly-formed colonies had high property qualifications for the suffrage, and sometimes plural voting rights, to restrict the franchise and political power to the wealthiest citizens.” (Sunshine for Women 2003). This meant that political power was only for rich upper-class citizens and the lower working class did not obtain representation. This situation did not change until much later.

Up until World War II, Australians were predominately of British and Irish descent. However, large immigrations from Greece, Italy, Yugoslavia, Lebanon and Turkey followed the war, and more recently immigrants from Asia. There are also about 230 000 Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders in Australia. Pre-war immigration saw immigrants of different ethnic backgrounds being treated differently, as the “White Australia” policy was in place. This had much to do with shaping the Australian psyche and also stratifying immigrants into classes distinctly below that of the local population. It was at this time that “immigrant workers often had to be taught that their position in the colonial labour market was subordinate” (Connell 1980)

The “White Australia” policy basically centered on the Immigration Act 1901. The Act was to place certain restrictions on immigration and to provide for the removal from the Commonwealth of prohibited Immigrants. “The Immigration Restriction Act controlled immigration into Australia until 1958, although over the years it was frequently amended. The Act was designed to limit the sorts of people who were allowed to come to live in Australia. Although the Act does not mention race discrimination, would-be immigrants had to pass a 50-word immigration test in a ‘European language’. It was completely up to the immigration officer as to which language was used, so the dictation test could be used to keep out anyone - the officer only had to choose a language the would-be immigrant didn’t know.”(TCWA 2004). The act was made redundant in 1975, when the Anti-Discrimination Act (1975) was enacted.

“Moving beyond the class struggles of the 1890s to the 1930’s depression era, a ruling elite had entrenched itself, whilst many businesses had shop front signs stating that Catholics need not apply for jobs” (Turner 2003). The depression era had much effect on the behavior of Australia’s members of society, as class divisions could be seen in its clearest form in the whole of the young country’s history. The period of the depression gave rise to the idea of sectarianism in which loyalty to the Empire or Australia was questioned, creating 2 factions of people. The gap between the two World Wars also saw a rise in ethnic conflicts, predominantly against people with non Anglo-Saxon backgrounds. These included riots against the presence of Chinese, Italian and German ethnic groups. These events echoed the “White Australia” policy like never before, creating great distrust between communities. “With these severe measures the implementation of the ‘White Australia’ policy was warmly applauded in most sections of the community.

In 1919 the Prime Minister, William Morris Hughes, hailed it as ‘the greatest thing we have achieved’.” (DIMIA 2004)

By the middle of the 1950s, incomes had levelled out into a familiar pattern in line with those of other capitalist countries, to a rapid growth of an urban middle class and the filling of the working class with unskilled, lowly-paid migrant labor. “The decline in the relative prosperity of primary industry levelled and broadened the upper classes, many a wealthy grazier having to curb his lifestyle and many aspects of wheat and wool production being taken over by city-based companies. What is clear is that a basic three class model fits the australian situation where mobility between manual and white collar occupatioons is minimal.” (Branson 1949). This summarizes the stratification pattern of Australian society up untill now where it becomes more complex.

Wealth

During the 1980s and 1990s, the rise in poverty and unemployment grew, creating a larger gap between the wealthy and the poor. It was said that during these times, the rich got richer, the poor got poorer and the middle class started to shrink. Considering Australia’s high standing in terms of one of the worlds wealthiest nations in the developed world, the widening imbalance in income inequality has created a much stronger social divide and meaning for the term “class” became clearer. One of the main reasons for this was the government’s policy of welfare policy undermining work incentives. “The United States, the United Kingdom and New Zealand have been identified as models for achieving lower unemployment through cuts in welfare and increasing wage flexibility.” (Whiteford 1998) Job opportunities, earnings, quality of working life, access to the welfare system, education, health and housing, the tax system, regional opportunities and the distribution of industrial power have all become more unequal since the mid-1970s. “Successive governments have been turning their backs on old values once considered untouchable. Australia has never been wealthier - yet today we have more homeless, disadvantaged, unemployed people and “working poor” and less equality of opportunity than a quarter of a century ago.” (Argy 2004)

Social standings in terms of wealth is not the only means of stratification. Divisions created by opportunity and access to higher levels of education because of financial disability also divides the society because access to higher levels of education is not available to everyone as with everything else, it comes with a price. Allthough public education is provided for the masses, in a competitive world as it is today, higher education is a more accurate determiner of quality of life. (Note that with increasing HECS fees and fund cuts for universities, the problem will be elevated further.) Without a a solid tertiary education, members of a more disadvantaged class will for a long time, be kept at their social position while others with the means to obtain higher degrees of knowledge become successful and excell in society. This vicious cycle would mean that the society is kept divided for generations. Only in expectional cases someone will break the bonds of poverty and accend the social ladder. A prime example would be Mark Latham, from a working middle-class family, now aspiring Prime Minister. However, only a small percentage of people actually get to follow in Latham’s path and the majority are still contained in their class containers.

Gender

Australia gave the vote to women after the Suffrage Movement in 1902. however, women have still always played a role behind men and have encountered many obsticals in reaching carrer heights dominated by men. Women are still expected to maintain the role of nurturer-homemaker while men play their traditional role as hunter-gatherers. A small percentage of employed women in the public sphere and corportate world encounter problems directly caused by their gender. Among them would be the “glass ceiling”. The term “glass ceiling” simply means “an unofficial barrier to an upper management or such prominent position within a company or other organization which certain groups, particularly women, are perceived to be unable to cross.” (Word IQ 2004). The traditionalist view of male and female roles seem to be still alive in Australia. “In the private sector, women have started to make it to the second and third tiers of management. But 54 per cent of Australia’s top 200 publicly listed companies have not a single woman in executive management positions, according to the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency.” (The Age 2004)

This trend seems to have taken its toll on female workforce participation, as Australia is said to have the lowest female workforce participation in the top 20 western democracies of the world.

However, figures also show that allthough the total number of females participating in the workforce are startlingly small, their numbers are rising as shown in the graph below. Postive signs that altho the “glass ceiling” still exists, views are starting to change and the acceptance of women into the public realm of working for income has increased and the glass ceiling might be cracking.

Source : http://www.rba.gov.au/PublicationsAndResearch/Bulletin/bu_oct02/bu_1002_3.pdf

Stereotypes

Apart from divisions in society because of wealth and gender, divisions in the past decade till now also exist because of ethnicity and stereotypes based on places of origin. This has created a class by itself of people of the same ethnic background being looked upon and placed in a certain level in society. Divisions can even made based on how a person carries him/herself and are also judged and if a particular slang exists in the person’s speech, he or she is normally “classified”.

Today advocacy of racial discrimination in migration is openly expressed only by fringe racist groups, although undoubtedly some fear and dislike of non-European migrants persists in some sections of Australian society. In recent years the focus of this sentiment has shifted from people of Asian origin to people of Arab and/or Islamic origin or culture.

In pass decades, divisions in Christian denominations have always taken centrestage with clear competition between Catholic and Anglican sects. However now a shift seems more evident as events such as the “Tampa Incident”, 9/11, and the War in Iraq has created more disdain towards believers of the Muslim faith as a whole. As commented; “From 1998 to 2002, several incidents concerning people of the Islamic faith led to public debates which highlighted Muslims as a religious category. In the case of certain criminal acts, such as gang rape, crime was directly linked with Islam.” (The Brisbane Institute 2003). The increasing incidents involving Islamic Fundamentalists have taken its toll on local innocent Muslims, and now wearing a headscarf or a turban can draw hostile stares.

A 1998 survey on Australians’ perceptions of Muslims also found that the majority perceived Muslims as conservatives and fundamentalists. (The Brisbane Institute 2001). This has caused much anxiety for the Muslim community as discrimination against them have increased thus lessening their opportunity and popularity in local communities.

Under Section 116 of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act,

“116. The Commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth.” (Parliament of Australia 2004) This act practically prohibits any discrimination on the basis of religion on the Commonwealth level but not on the State level! This has allowed discrimination on the basis of religion by people such as individual employers and such, proving most useful in current times.

In terms of class divisions, Aboriginies seem to suffer the most and are commonly placed at the lowest point in the social ladder because of their dependance on government handouts, high unemploymnent rates and crime. Poverty has struck this group of people the hardest and constant stereotyping and negative media coverage have always prevented progress to come upon them. “There is considerable eveidence that indigenous Australians are as a group extremely disadvantaged, as are some sub-groups of immigrants.”(Whiteford 1998)

This notion of stereotypes have been reinforced by the media and its constant urge to over report and dramaticize news that include ethnic elements.

“A nation that embraced the White Australia Policy for 75 years of its 102 years of federation instituted a mindset of class, racial, religious and economic discrimination and the residue of this policy remains in the Australian psyche.” (Turner 2003)

However, as the racist policy was abolished 25 years ago, many have accepted multiculturalism as a new way of life and racism, thankfully, is not as prevalent now as it was in the last century.

“The Holt Liberal Government initiated the dismantling of all discriminatory elements from Australian immigration law in 1966. The effective end of the White Australia policy is usually dated to 1973, when a series of amendments prevented the enforcement of racial aspects of the immigration law. The 1975 Racial Discrimination Act made the use of racial criteria for any official purpose illegal.”(Nationmaster.com 2004)

Certain radical leftist groups however such as Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party and the Australian Nationalists Movement (ANM), led by the arsonist Jack Van Togeren, whose rampage in Perth have represented an outstanding minority that are disappearing, reflected mildly by the disappearing of Pauline Hanson from politics. Government initiatives have also been a welcoming sign, as the pursuit for an “egalitarian Australia” continues. “On 9 December 1999, the government tabled the New Agenda for Multicultural Australia in parliament. It contains a framework which aims at making multiculturalism relevant to all Australians, ensuring that the social, cultural and economic benefits of our diversity are fully maximised in the national interest. It encourages harmonious relationships between people or organisations of different cultural backgrounds.” (DIMIA 2004)

In Comparison

In comparison with other countries on a world wide scale however, the social divide in Australia is much less evident. Comparisons can be made between developed countries and also developing countries. With developed countries, namely countries of West such as North America and Western Europe, Australia ranks highly in terms of its society not being divided into clear groups based on wealth and social standings. For example, in Britian traditionally classes have always existed from its feudal past, Lords and peasantry. In America, one of the most competitive nations on earth, the chase for wealth, a better life and the American dream has always placed people with different social standings and the urge to move up the social ladder is indeed very stronger than in Australia.

In comparison with other developing countries such as countries on the Asian continent, traditionally, societal class divisions have always existed and the difference in social standing has always been more evident. Social mobility has been difficult and positions of power and occupation are usually inherited. Especially in India where the Caste system of centuries ago is still alive and discrimination against the lowest cast is extreme.

However, this trend is changing and the movement away from the traditional form of thinking is happening, but the current level of classlessness cannot yet match the egalitarity of Australia.

Scandanavian countries however, are the closest any society can get to egalitarianism. Australia ranks more stratified than nordic society. This is mainly because of the Social Democratic nature of the government which efficiently promotes equality and egalitarianism on all levels of society. In comparison with a liberal, free for all democracy like Australia, that level of egalitarianism is difficult to attain.

Conclusion

In concluding, Australia is indeed still a class society divided thoughout history up until now and divided most distinctively through wealth, gender and stereotyping. However, in comparison to the rest of the world, Australian society is one of the least stratified, but undeniably, not in any sense deviod of social stratification. Keeping up with the persistent myth that is kept alive in Australia is that Australians are “…an affluent, egalitarian and classless society of boundless opportunity with rich rewards for those prepared to put in the effort…Collins 1988)” , the Land of the famous ‘fair go’ still has a long way to go to transform this myth, into fact.

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