Class-Based Social Structure in Australia

Introduction The Australian community has been fed with this fat big lie that our community is an egalitarian which by definition is a society based on the ideology and principle that all mankind are equal and should be treated as equals where such thing as social class and status is hardly considered(Thompson, 1994). A recent study however deconstructed this myth as several factors have changed from the good old Australia to the modern based Australia which has not only gradually metamorphosed into a completely Aristocratic society where there is a continuous power

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5. In Australia, we like to think we are all equal, but in practice, we still have a class-
based social structure. Discuss.
Introduction
The Australian community has been fed with this fat big lie that our community is an egalitarian
which by definition is a society based on the ideology and principle that all mankind are equal
and should be treated as equals where such thing as social class and status is hardly
considered(Thompson, 1994). The citizens have been fed this myth that in Australia the social
fabric of the community lies in each and every member of the society and all the member are
considered first among equals. A recent study however deconstructed this myth as several factors
have changed from the good old Australia to the modern based Australia which has not only
gradually metamorphosed into a completely Aristocratic society where there is a continuous
power struggle among the rich and the poor but also among the poor themselves(Daniel, 1983).
The community leader and the policymakers have blindfolded us to believe that we are our
brother’s keeper and that it doesn't matter who you are to be able to get government services. For
a long time, the rights of every Australian has been protected to the letter as well prescribed in
the society to ensure equality of all the members of the society. But this has just been a mirage as
the very fundamental rights an freedom of every Australian is now more of a state privilege
given based on your social status in the community(Buckley and Wheelwright, 1988). This essay
stands to wash out all this myth and infer a harsh reality of the situation in Australia that makes it
more of an exceptionalism society than its glory of egalitarian. Reading through the essay you
will no doubt be convinced that the Australian community has actually lost its glory just like the
Frenchmen lost it in their French revolution of equality and brotherhood and the society has
embraced capitalism which a conspicuous separation of various social classes and niches. The
essay summarises in its conclusion the very core reasons why Australia qualify to be called an

Aristocratic state just like the Britons are well known for where social classes and status is the
order of the day and affects almost all the social-economic and political fabric of the
society(Western, 1983).
Body
To fully support the argument for thesis above, the essay has established evidence, facts, and
figures that can help the average Australian understand their social classes better and wake up
from their sleep and face the harsh reality that we do have classes Australia. The very first
evidence is drawn from a survey on how the Australian get their income, the amount they
manage and their valued assets. In a study, it was found the top richest 10% owns a massive 45%
of the Australian economy(Saunders, 2004). The same class of people owns 86% of shared and
other investments in the Australian community. Leaving the other classes of citizens to divide
the 14%. In addition to that, this class owns 62% of the country’s rentals investments, inferring
that they influence most of the housing policy made in the country(Saunders and Siminski,
2005). Lastly, this group has more cash flows to invest and cumulatively owns 60% of the
interest-bearing deposits in our financial institutions(Wilkins et al., 2011). The above statistics
justify that inequality exists in our society and it has been stratified according to class. The rich
always have the final say in most decision making discourse and the middle class and the poor
have to join their bandwagon since to rich they are more of slaves than equals.
According to the Oxfam Australian fact sheet, on wealth and income, further proves that the no
class myth. The top richest among the community generates a disproportionately high income
compared to the other citizens setting up a class of their own that every Australian wants to be.

The study shows that the richest 10% enjoy a whopping 28% more than their poor class
counterparts(Morley and Ablett, 2016). The figure below summarises this evidence,
Figure 1 Australian Income Decile
Using the Marxisms approach which provides a framework to fully stratify a society bring a
fresh evidence to the discourse, the analysis shows there is a big class difference in our political
dispensation shows a different class preference for a particular party. A pollster done by Ipsos
Synovate show a bigger percentage of 34% who are self-described working class not knowing
who they will vote for if the election were held today(Poulantzas and O'Hagan, 1973). They were
rather undecided. This percentage represents twice what the upper/ middle-class report. The
latter reported 15% undecided rate for their preferred candidate. Those who were able to
explicitly identify with the various political parties were 50% among the upper/middle class
while the working class had 42% preference for a particular political dispensation. The labor
party had its support base among the working class with a 41% acceptance rate thanks to their

soft policies on the working conditions while the upper/middle class had relatively lower
acceptance rate for the labor party with a 31% relative to the working class(Bottomley and De
Lepervanche, 1984). This brings the premise that our choice for political parties is largely
dependent on the social class we live in. The working class associate with the labour party since
it promises to deliver better working conditions while in power, while those in the lower social
strata had a lot of preference for the green party partly because they think the green party shall
equitably redistribute the national cake among the citizens to reduce the shameful social class
stratification which according to Marxism theory has its origin in the new capitalist economy.
This again proves our society is actually based on classes(Baldwin, 1990).
This paragraph in particular is a bombshell for the doubting Thomas who still think we don’t
have social classes in Australia, A study on the thought of the Australian class system has
revealed very compelling evidence that is hereinafter discussed, The study which surveyed 1200
Australians made the following new discoveries, 50% of the Australian population identify
themselves as the middle-class strata(Connell et al., 1992). Another group who identified
themselves as belonging to the prestigious working class comprised the 40% of the
correspondences. In addition to that, 3% of the guinea pigs identified with the fortunate and
called themselves as the upper class. The research further conducted an analysis of the research
and mined some new discoveries that have further suggested six social strata, Analysis shows
that 25% of the respondents belong to the different social strata(McGregor, 1997). These classes
are described below
1. The precariat: These group according to the survey represent 13% of the correspondents
and they mainly made up of the low income earning bracket who mostly are unemployed

or receiving some government subsidies since most members of this class do not have
adequate income to afford basic services(Denny and Churchill, 2016).
2. The Ageing Worker- This social class of the population is majorly comprised of the
retired members of the society who have given their service to the country and are
comfortable receiving some form of reward from the government in terms of pensions.
The class constitutes 14% of the total population. Their dependency ratio on the working
class is high and mostly receive benefits from their son and daughters. Though they have
reduced strength, their experience in the country makes them vital source of information
for some policymakers and opinion leader who use them to champion their political
interests(Australia, 2011).
3. New Workers: This class of people is unique, They mainly comprise of the recently
graduated students in their entry-level jobs or some form of an internship. Their net pay
may not match their counterparts in the higher social strata, but their hard work and
determination make them successful low pay notwithstanding. They are vital voting
block since they usually vote for one political outfit and usually as a block, this makes
them a key strategic class for the greedy political class who use them to champion for
their selfish interests(Mummery et al., 2005).
4. Established Middle: Although this class usually score below the new workers based on
their fulltime employment rates, this class is more comfortable and lie relatively
luxurious life, thanks to their accumulated wealth they have earned during their prime
working days. This class always enjoy good vacations in some five-star hotels since they
usually have enough disposable income. Their children are also schooled in prestigious

institutions where they get to mingle with the sons and daughters of their mates in this
strata.
5. Emerging affluent: This class of the Australian community is reported according to the
survey to earn relatively more income their counterparts in the established middles class.
But something worth knowing, according to the survey, they generally accumulate less
income in matters of savings and their assets.
6. Established Affluent: This class in the Australian society is by far the closest Australia
has to become an Aristocratic state. This capitalist mafia is the movers of the economy,
reporting the best social, political and cultural life scores. They are mainly CEO
billionaires of some of the going concern in the country. Their accumulated wealth
represent 45% of Australian GDP. This class is a strategic voting class for those with
political ambitions as they are mainly approached to finance and sponsor most of the
campaign. They are the opinion leaders and policymakers of the Australian community.
I know most readers like our grandparents still dream of egalitarian Australia, But
looking at a report by ABC, the number of people enjoying the national cake is
diminishing. A good can only be judged by the number of people in the top social; strata,
The study shows most Australian population is between the poor and the middle
class(Broadhead, 1985).
Conclusion
There is so much being talked about concerning whether a class system exists in
Australia or not. Many scholars have put this patented argument that class is no longer of
much value in our society and then an individual identify and trademarks and chances in

life are established on a factor such as intelligence, lifestyle, values and the level of
education. They have made us believe our society has transformed from a consumption to
production based society. This myth has been deconstructed in the essay by providing
facts and figures that point to the premise that actually class system is here to stay and the
Australian community is not spared. Those who are lucky to be in the top social strata
enjoy most benefits with the widespread of capitalism philosophies. Your social class
determines which hotels you can accommodate in, what kind of cars you should drive,
the amount of property you can have, the type of schools your children should board. The
political space is equally not spared and most decision to vote for or vote against a
particular candidate is majorly based on the fact that you identify with the class of the
aspirant. This sorry state of affair has affected the Australian core social fabrics and made
lost the glory of being an egalitarian state and has since metamorphosed into a near
aristocratic state with capitalism ideologies.
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