Social Inequality In Australia Essay

Another part of my research included looking at other factors that relate to social stratification there are huge gaps in this area in regard to income, wealth, power, and prestige. Social stratification is defined in our book as the ranking of people and the rewards they receive based

The axis of inequality that will be focused throughout this paper is the social class. Social class is defined as a group of individuals who are categorized according to class (i.e. poor, middle, and upper) due to their income, wealth, power, and occupation. Social class is socially constructed by the way we view how much income and wealth a person possess (Ore, 20011a, 10). In reality it is much more than that. According to the text, poverty is not only the shortage of income, but it is the rejection of opportunities and choices that leads a person to a standard way of living (Ore, 2011a, 10). Stereotyping also contributes to it being socially constructed. These stereotypes influence us by defining who is who based on their principles in each class category. This can cause some to feel worthless.

Connell & Irving (1992) identify ‘class structure’ in Australia with the ‘ruling class’ owning property/business, and the ‘working class’ in the way of labourers whom ‘act together in resistance to the capitalists’. This is relevant today in Australia with the privileged having majority of the power and wealth. Moreover, exploitation of the ‘working class’ continue to maintain less power within the workplace & less wealth. Connell & Irving offer an uncomplicated view of class structure, (1992: p 40):

Social inequality is the reality of unequal chances and rewards for diverse social positions or categories

Social inequality can practically be made apparent at any moment of someone’s life – whether at work or school amongst peers or simply watching the news in the morning. According to Dalton Conley, social inequality is narrowly defined as “a condition in which a difference in wealth, power, prestige, or status based on nonnatural conventions exist” (2017 p.241). Moreover, social inequality is a process whereby society can determine how a class of people is expected to coexist within predetermined social, political, and economic boundaries. The affected class will live within the predefined constraints, and the affected class will then pass the predefined constraints on to future generations. It is imperative to understand that social inequality is a result of social stratification, which according to

Australia’s distribution of income and wealth has worsened as market forces operate more freely in the economy. The recent transition from a manufacturing economy into a services economy has wider implications towards the distribution of income. The widening of income and wealth inequality is a result of labor market decentralization, capital gains tax and superannuation tax, globalization and the resources boom leading to a rapid economic growth. Inequality results in several economic costs and benefits as well as longer lasting social consequences. Income inequality is the degree to which income is unevenly distributed among people in an economy while wealth inequality is the unequal distribution of assets within a population.

The short-term costs of implementing a Nordic Model in Australia is likely to lead to a resistance from a cost conscious voting public (Pickering, C 2014). Inequality is rising against a background of social immobility. Reductions in inequality can follow from a leveling in either direction – by elevating the poor or pushing down the wealthy. However, it is the plight of the poor that we most need to improve. The answer to bridging the gap between Australia’s wealthy and poor is likely to be found in increasing social mobility and increasing opportunities for the disadvantaged. Improving the rate of upward income mobility is an important issue for policy makers not just because it is one of the core principles of Australian society but also

The “community-driven” Closing the Gap 2030 program was implemented from last year with the aim of increasing Aboriginal life expectancy; recently proven to be 11 years below that of non-indigenous Australians in addition to the fact that there is a huge difference in health between these two groups. In creating solutions to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the government ensures these programs accommodate the Social Justice Principles of equity, diversity and supportive environments. These principles target the marginalised and disadvantaged groups in society, and is concerned with ensuring every Australian citizen lives free from discrimination and has the means to make choices about how they live.

In recent year’s social mobility, the expanding higher education system and greater job flexibility have all been cited as examples of how social class is apparently becoming progressively demised in current Britain. Historically, social class was extremely important in society which was defined by a hierarchy. For example, the established middle class or the traditional working class. According to Clark (2015), social mobility barely exists, so it

“1]. How does social inequality impact people of different nationalities [ethnicities & races], classes, and genders in society.”

Social Stratification is a term used by sociologists to describe inequalities that exist between society and us as individuals and can also be described as a hierarchy with the less privileged people at the bottom and the more favoured people at the top. (Giddens, 2006)

An Australian program created more than a decade ago also illustrates the construction of the Bogan by exploiting the patterns of representation, that in 2015 have not develop far beyond the description presented by Scanlon. Kath and Kim (Riley & Turner, 2002) and The Real Housewives of Melbourne (2014) have shown that class is not singularly determined by the amount of money one has, ‘class is defined currently as a cultural property’. Skeggs (2005 pp. 48) and money does not buy/entitle a person automatically to a particular class. The constructions of class is also impacted by the mannerisms and

The 21-st century is characterized by the continuous economic downfall. The relationship between race, class and gender should be evaluated to identify the life chances of people to improve their relative position in our socially stratified world. The increased rates of unemployment, homelessness and poverty show that our society requires implementing a transformative approach to reduce social stratification. The term social stratification is applied to identify and asses different forms of inequality that exist in the US society. Patricia H Collins suggests, “while a piece of the oppressor may be planted deep within each of us, we each have the choice of accepting that piece or challenging it as part of the 'true focus of revolutionary change'” (p. 680). Inequality has become a universal feature of our society; therefore, it exists everywhere and concerns race, class, and gender as the key categories of society.

How is it in the year 2017, we are still considering there isn’t a class structure in Australia? There are so many examples occurring in our everyday life such as, where one person is living geographically could justify their wealth or where someone went to school could justify how intelligent this person is. But with these examples, it seems like it is an invisible factor that we have become accustomed or prone to these types of justifications. Verity Archer a writer in the book “Sociologic: Analysing Everything life and culture” said “we all think were in the middle-class wise, this belief is a core part of our national identity” . This is similar to what I am trying to explain, that we all think we’re on the same level, however, we’re all on an imaginary level of various class-structures . Two sociologists Karl Max (1818-1883) and Erik Olin Wright (1947) had two similar but different views on the way our society is classed and how their theories are adapting in our everyday lives, with the privileged minority of Australia to reinforce ongoing inequality to the working-class. The aim of this essay is to see how in today’s reality, the theories of Max and Wright are adapted into our workforce, education and family structures. We get an insight in what the theories are trying to explain? And the differences between the two theories

Inequality in New Zealand 's society is an ongoing issue in the present, prior to the 1980s, New Zealand was one of the most equal countries in the world but in the two decades from the mid-1980s onwards, the division between the rich and the underprivileged increased faster than anywhere else in the world. Inequality is both a relatively modern concept, and one which has existed for as long as humankind have been on earth, whether it’s Gender inequality, Racial and ethnic inequality, Age inequality, Inequalities in health or inequalities in economic growth a certain degree of inequality is needed in society, but high levels of inequality can cause a flawed social society, common poverty, increases in crime and other social affliction. In this report I will talk about the high income inequality in New zealand 's household. If people are dissatisfied because of the high levels of income inequality their motivation to participate in the democratic process could considerably decrease because they may feel that the well-off could control and manipulate any changes that occur in the future. In 2010 in United States people became disaffected with because of the high levels of income inequality, which caused a major protest mostly because of social and economic inequality, greed, corruption and the perceived undue influence of corporations on government. This was known as the Occupy Wall Street movement of 2010. This is just a possibility if New Zealand 's high level of inequality