Class+in+Australia-Suzi

= Class in Australia  = = Summary =

·  Basis: Ownership ·  Conflict between the bourgeois and proletariats. ·  Proletariats were exploited by the bourgeois not purposefully but because of economic forces within capitalist society. ·  Belief that proletariats should take responsibility for their working conditions. ·  Rise of trade organisations was responsible for this exploitation ·  Marx’s long herm goal involved overturning of the bourgeois by the proletariats through the revolutionary transition to socialism. ·  Defined classes according to a person’s market capacity. ·  Market capacity referred to ownership of property and economic resources as well as the skills and expertise that might be used to help enhance a person’s life chances. ·  Two dimensions of social differentiation. 1. Status, stratification based on social not economic factors, e.g. racial differences. 2. Stratification upon formation of parties of interest groups ·  McGregor: “Class is...an immense force for social control. It is the key to who has power over whom in Australian society, the way in which a small and extraordinary powerful elite funs the nations, and its institutions, and the great mass of Australians for its own benefit.” __ Relationship to the means of production: __ ·  All Australians who sell their labour to employers are obliged to them in some way. This clumps a large proportion of Australians together by the common fact that they are employed by others. <Marxist View. __ Occupation: __ ·  McGregor: “...the class groups in Australia can be roughly categorised as: Upper class made up largely of owners, employing groups, large landholders, financier, entrepreneurs and some self employed people, managers and professionals; middle class, largely white collar worker, typical members being clerks, sales people, teachers, bank tellers, affluent tradespeople; working class made up largely of skilled semi-skilled and unskilled blue collar workers, labourers, bush workers, factory hands and those in manual work.” ·  __Power:__ Marxist: who tell others what to do what to produce with their capital are those wielding the power. ·  Decision making and influence over decision making, control and authority over others within a job determine class stratification. ·  Change in corporate Australia and power despite lack of ownership of capital has laid the groundwork for the concept of new classes. ·  Amount of power that one has can be linked to the class that someone is the member. __ Money/Family Background: __ ·  Wealth has always been a determinant of social class and it is essential to examine whether a person has achieved or ascribed wealth to really be able to characterise social class. ·  If a person has inherited wealth they are generally ascribed to the upper class. ·  McGregor: “...money doesn’t make someone better than anyone else, it merely makes them better off...A very small minority 10% of the population owns most (60%) of the wealth” ·  Money does not denote class alone. Family background generally decides class position through inheritance. __ Education __ ·  Opportunity and outcome ·  Middle class espouse higher expectations of educational goals in their children than lower class. These high expectations allow children to seize opportunities. ·  The cycle of poverty might lock the child into lower expectations and therefore act as a barrier contributing to social inequality. __ Culture: __ ·  This is linked to peoples class identity more than being an actual boundary of class. McGregor explains “...in popular consciousness, lifestyle is very much associated with class and it is important to take account of the social reality which is perceived by the people...There is a world of indifference between a snob and a slob, a yuppie and a yobbo. These are basically class terms.” __ Gender/Ethnicity: __ ·  McGregor: “...there are some distinctive patters to be discerned in a woman’s class placement.” ·  Women share the class of their partner, although more and more are attaining position by individual skill. Women may not form a separate class but they suffer invidious and not so hidden penalties of class within the general class system. When looking at social class the determinants certainly help to identify areas of social inequality within society and allow us to examine the effects of these inequalities on persons.
 * __ Marx’s theory of class and class relations. __**
 * __ Weber __**
 * __ Determinants of Class: __**

__Questions:__ 1.   __ Describe the general topic area. __ ‘Class in Australia’ is an article mainly consisting of who predominant theories from the sociologists Marx and Weber. It discusses the ‘determinants of class,’ which include money, family, gender, etc. It uses the theories to help us understand the ways we categorise class in our society. 2.   __ What argument is being made regarding inequality? __ There is more than one argument being made in this article about inequality. It states Marx’s idea of Proletariats were exploited by the bourgeois not purposefully but because of economic forces within capitalist society, and also that of Weber, which is that, Market capacity (ownership of property of skills) help enhance a person’s life chances. Also discussing factors which catergorise these classes. The article states that the categories or ‘determinants of class’ There is inequality because each person is categorised into subclasses and sub-groups which distinguish them from everybody else. 3.   __ List evidence presented in paper to support the arguent __ On Women: Women share the class of their partner, although more and more are attaining position by individual skill. Women may not form a separate class but they suffer invidious and not so hidden penalties of class within the general class system. On Education: The cycle of poverty might lock the child into lower expectations and therefore act as a barrier contributing to social inequality. 4.   __ Of what use is this article for a student of S&C __ This article is very useful for a Society and Culture student because not only does it provide the groups in which people are segregated under but it also makes judgement on this and allows us to understand from a theoretical perspective what each group is about and what is involved in each. 5.   __ What criticism would you make of the article? __ It is possible to critise this article as narrow minded without exploring in depth the future for the unequal people in society. The author is gaining his views from a range of sources and therefore is not bias on his own account. The language and quotes used are quite effective although from Weber and Marx there is no quotes.