“Where do you and your family fit into the class structure, when class is understood in terms of relations of production?”
Class in Australia is a complicated and uneasy issue. The general Australian idea of what class is, and how it effects the average person’s life is very different to how class effects people when looked at in terms of relations of production. A core value in Australian culture is the idea that everyone is equal regardless of financial capacity, and it is this value that clouds the economic perspective of what class is. The idea that everyone is ‘middle class’ has been a prominent theme in Australia and can be followed from the use of the word “mate” through to the idea of John Howard's “battlers”. Australian society is also different in that our social democracy allows fluidity between classes. Free market based economies are powered by working class people pursuing the dream of having more, and in Australia and in capitalistic democracies around the world this is possible.
There is of course an importance to the the division of economic class in terms of the relations of production. This paper will show that even though class structure in terms of relations of production does apply to Australia in an analytical sense, it does not fit with the social culture of Australia. My family is a good example of the fluidity of classes in Australia and illustrates the potential for movement in a system that was traditionally rock solid.
To properly understand this question and more importantly this response it is important to have a clear understanding of what is mean by class structure in terms of the relations of production. The term ‘relations of production’ was first used in the social economic sense by Karl Marx in the 19th Century. This term basically means “the social relations specific to a particular mode of production, and reserved division of labour (these days the ‘technical division of labour’) for the concrete, structural composition... [continues]
Class in Australia is a complicated and uneasy issue. The general Australian idea of what class is, and how it effects the average person’s life is very different to how class effects people when looked at in terms of relations of production. A core value in Australian culture is the idea that everyone is equal regardless of financial capacity, and it is this value that clouds the economic perspective of what class is. The idea that everyone is ‘middle class’ has been a prominent theme in Australia and can be followed from the use of the word “mate” through to the idea of John Howard's “battlers”. Australian society is also different in that our social democracy allows fluidity between classes. Free market based economies are powered by working class people pursuing the dream of having more, and in Australia and in capitalistic democracies around the world this is possible.
There is of course an importance to the the division of economic class in terms of the relations of production. This paper will show that even though class structure in terms of relations of production does apply to Australia in an analytical sense, it does not fit with the social culture of Australia. My family is a good example of the fluidity of classes in Australia and illustrates the potential for movement in a system that was traditionally rock solid.
To properly understand this question and more importantly this response it is important to have a clear understanding of what is mean by class structure in terms of the relations of production. The term ‘relations of production’ was first used in the social economic sense by Karl Marx in the 19th Century. This term basically means “the social relations specific to a particular mode of production, and reserved division of labour (these days the ‘technical division of labour’) for the concrete, structural composition... [continues]
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(2008, 10). “Where Do You and Your Family Fit Into the Class Structure, When Class Is Understood in Terms of Relations of Production?”. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 10, 2008, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Where-Do-You-Your-Family-Fit-168407.html
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"“Where Do You and Your Family Fit Into the Class Structure, When Class Is Understood in Terms of Relations of Production?”" StudyMode.com. 10 2008. 10 2008 <http://www.studymode.com/essays/Where-Do-You-Your-Family-Fit-168407.html>.
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"“Where Do You and Your Family Fit Into the Class Structure, When Class Is Understood in Terms of Relations of Production?”." StudyMode.com. 10, 2008. Accessed 10, 2008. http://www.studymode.com/essays/Where-Do-You-Your-Family-Fit-168407.html.
