Critically Analyze the Following Claim: ‘Class Is No Longer Relevant in Australia in the Twenty-First Century’

Critically analyze the weding occupy discip ocellus is no longer relevant in Australia in the 20-first vitamin C. The relevance of societal enlighten in Australia has been disputed as to whether it still exists. thither argon a lot of arguments and opinions on this issue tho shape inequality is evidently still in force in twenty first Australia. Contemporary Australian society discriminates the difference of accessible carve upes d one(a) economic status, education and geographic location.The business leader battle in sociable ramify is analyzed in theorist Karl Marxs Communist pronunciamento where the Bourgeois ( feeling socio-economic class) and the Proletarians ( head for the hillsing class) atomic number 18 discussed as to how classes are shaped in societies which privy then be applied in twenty first light speed Australia. Bill Martins Class discusses the distinction between running(a) and mall class in Australia today compared to a generation ago in accordance to materials, geographic location and usance.In Australia, economic status, employment and property will power refers to what the individual earns and owns which are very(prenominal) all-important(prenominal) accompanimentor outs in determining hearty classes. A persons economic status is determined by their employment and employment in Australia is classified in whiten and drab collar workers. The white collar workers fall into the public opinion class phratry where they obtain dots, maintain high wage and use their skills/knowledge from the degree to obtain an office job wearing white dress shirts (which is where the account book white collar is derived from).Whereas the blue collar workers fall into the low-middle class category, where the workers are employed as tradesmen or laborers as they have physical work with standard wage which dont require high qualifications. These devil main tiers of collars are implemented in twenty first Australia which is a fundamental aspect of determining social class as the white collar workers have wealth position them in power of the working class which verifies that at that place is underlying capitalism.In relation to economic status, property self-command is an some opposite fundamental aspect of determining a persons class in Australia as it defines the persons wealth. Property bear consist of houses, investments, cars, savings accounts, land and any materials with value. Property possession was Marxs main argument in determining social class as, The bourgeoisie bottom of the inningnot exist without constantly revolutionizing the instruments of production, and hereby the relations of production, and with them the whole relations of society, (Marx 771) which argues that if the person doesnt have some form of ownership then they didnt have resources for production which would classify them as a laborer putting them in the working class. Property ownership distinguishes the twain classes from each other in Australia as it is seen through the works of the Labor party as it has a large group of wad in the working class leaving them to manage capitalism.Marxs infamous quote, The history of all nevertheless existing society is the history of class struggles,(Marx 79) makes it clear that class struggle is needed to create the division of classes. Jim Kemeny writes Australian capitalism highlights the way in which the Australian ruling class is likely to differ from those of other middle-sized capitalist societies, (Kemeny 103) where the ruling class in Australia is weakly developed in refresh to the economy.Capitalists have the capital and the workers own their power to labor which only receives one third of their produce as the other two thirds are interpreted by the capitalists which keeps the classes separated this is evident in Australia due to technological advancements where the laborers are beingness replaced by technology putting people out of jobs which e xplains how the liberal get richer and the poor get poorer.This division of labour in Australia can also be analysed by sociologist Max Weber as he thought Marxs theory was too simplistic, indeed there were incompatible classes but they were classed according to property, power and prestige (class, power and status). Webers theory also applies in Australia as Australians value mateship and children have the chance to enter a antithetical class through their manner of speech, follow in the society, education achievements and social leisure habits which can increase their life history chances.Power is doing anything you desire while being able to control other people whether they object or not. In Australia, power is exercised by the government, controlling the acress rights and keeping the classes separated. Prestige/status is how the person is perceived in the community/society. Property will usually lead to prestige and power but property is mostly held by the people working in white collar jobs. Social welfare is provided by the Australian governance to the working where Centrelink provides economic assistance for the people out of work.The income support body can help with Austudy Allowance,Carer Allowance,Disability Support, Pension Payment, Orphans Allowance, Newstart Allowance,Maternity Payment,Parenting Payment, Special reach Payment andYouth Allowancewhich are conducted by a government agency test (which is usually taken advantage of). The word agreeable to bludgetown by Caroline Marcus discusses the different nationalities and demographics of certain suburbs that rely on Centrelink classing them in the raze tier.The geographic location of where people reside has an effect on whether they are categorized into working or ruling class as the suburbs of Greenacre, Punchbowl and Villawood (South-west Sydney) would sooner accept Centrelink than find a job. The article reads Mr Trad said Muslims suffered from inequality when it came to applyin g for jobs. I wonder if this gentleman has ever experienced discrepancy in the piece of work himself, he said. Certainly, people with a Muslim-sounding name are not given the same opportunities s people with an Anglo-sounding name. (Marcus pars. 16-18) Discrimination can be a possible explanation as to why some of these cultural groups are not employed in this multicultural country which ultimately disadvantages their children as they are automatically categorized in the working class but their geographic location has also disadvantaged them because they are influenced by other people from their culture making them reluctant to even apply for employment which leaves them to stay in the working class.Geographic location can affect a persons class which is evident in Class by Bill Martin which tours around in three shopping centres in Adelaide. Martin identifies the different stores, cars, clothing, education and assembly line in regards to three different suburbs. The ruling cla ss is evidently Eastside where most of the stores are upmarket, half the cars in the car park are mostly European, tog are chosen carefully, their children go to esoteric schools and have a dominant occupation of doctors, lawyers, accountants etc.Putting them in the ruling class as opposed to Rosedale where there are discount shops through connected malls, most of the cars in the car park are Holdens, Fords and Toyotas, their clothes are old, their children attend reality schools that are trying to defeat drug problems with very few that attend university and have a dominant occupation of public servants, delivery drivers and secretaries.Martin clearly distinguishes between the two suburbs in their two tiers of class. It is evident that the children growing up in Eastside are a lot more likely to become members of the ruling class and the children being raised in Rosedale are more likely to stay in the working class as they are almost destined to tamp down out the same outcome a s their parents and very few follow through to higher education to obtain high wage and status.In Australia, the media plays an important role in distinguishing between the classes in Australia as stereotypes are envisioned in the media to make it taken for granted(predicate) that class is still an existing factor in society. The Australian nation may want to believe that there isnt class discrimination and that everyone is middle class but this claim is evidently false which can be understood in the article Whatever happened to the classless society? by Thornton McCamish. The article identifies Australians as an mismatched country in reference to class discrimination as McCamish writes nearly how Australians are portrayed in TV shows such(prenominal) as spend Heights High where Jamie, a high class snob attends a public high school for a semester as opposed to her private girls college and assumes that everyone attending public schools are living in poverty (povvo) classing the m in the working class.This assumption isnt widely made or accepted among Australians as the TV show exaggerates reality but people notice the series may take that into account and might reassess their social status in terms of school placement but the fact of the matter is working class parents can only afford public schools which have higher risks to drug abuse and teen pregnancy. It shows that Australia went from a very egalitarian country to a country with underlying class discrimination issues, that may not necessarily be evident as to where the dividing line is but it is present in twenty-first century Australia.The article reads Ignoring class didnt make socio-economic divides go away, just harder to get your head around. Especially once the Howard government took to our class structure with a rhetorical Dymo, replacing labels such as ruling class or working class with tender ones such as elites and battlers a category that seemed to embrace anyone with a light vote. Me anwhile, our very rich (not part of the elites, puzzlingly) got very much richer. (McCamish pars. 6)Masking the names of the ruling or working class doesnt make class discrimination irrelevant and evidently ignoring the divides doesnt make class irrelevant either. To conclude, it is obvious that class is still an existing factor in twenty-first century Australia making it relevant especially due to the socio-economic status regarding employment, property ownership and geographic location. Conducted studies by the ABC show that 86% of Australians believe that class is still relevant in Australia.Theories from centuries ago about social classes are still relevant when comparing social discrimination to Australias social classes making it therefore evident that it still exists. WORKS CITED Henslin, James M. orbiculate Stratification, Essentials of Sociology A-Down-To-Earth Approach Eighth ed. Boston Pearson/Allyn and Bacon, 2009. 170-95. Print. Kemeny, J. Capitalism- the Australian w ay, Arena(Melbourne) 1978. No. 51, 94-103. Print. Marcus, Caroline. Welcome to Bludgetown, Western Sydney. The Daily Telegraph 10 Jun. 2012. Print. Martin, B. Class, in P. Beilharz and T. Hogan (eds. ) Sociology Place, Time and character, South Melbourne Oxford University Press, 2006. pp. 402-405. Print. Marx, Karl Engels, Friedrich. The Communist Manifesto. United Kingdom Penguin Books, 2002. Print. McCamish, Thornton. Whatever happened to the classless society. The date 16 Aug. 2009. Print. Weber, M. The Protestant Ethic and the spirit of Capitalism, Unwin Hyman Limited London- 1985. Print.