Inequality and Poverty in Australia: A Sociological Perspective

Running head: SOCIOLOGY 1
Introductory Sociology
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SOCIOLOGY 2
Brief Summary of the reading
In this reading it talks about classes and poverty levels within the Australian community (Habibis
& Walter, 2009). Even though the Australia is the imaged community of the nation that does not
mean all the individuals has equal access to the resources in the country (Habibis & Walter,
2009). The reading further explains that even though the country is amongst the rich in the world
there also exists another side of the affluence and poverty that exists in the country.
It goes further to show how the income and wealth have influenced the life of the individuals
who are living in the country because they have unequal access to the financial resources
(Saunders, 2005). There are those that have wealth and those that are poor but at the end of the
day the income and wealth is the one which determines the kind of education which one will
have.
The reading has also discussed on how political charged the atmosphere which surrounds the
poverty in the new millennium. There was also discussion on the inequality amongst the
Australian, and the sociological approaches to that inequality. The reading has also explored on
the sociological research for the past decade on whether to partake Australian way of life could
differ across the class boundaries.
Reflection on the content
The content of the reading explore on the aspect of inequality in the society. In Australia
individuals are different in society based on the income and wealth one has (McGregor, 1997).
There are those that are affluent and those that are poor. There are also low levels of
unemployment in Australia and this has been influenced by status quo, whereby if one does not
have wealth they would likely not access education and they end up jobless. There has also been