INTRODUCTION
An egalitarian society is termed as one of which looks after its poor and treats them with dignity, effectively rejects all types of discrimination, shares the advantages of increasing national productivity, strives hard to accomplish “equality of initial opportunities” and allows workers to speak adequately on matters that influence their well-being (Satyen, Dort and Yin, 2020). The reasons behind social inequality are – low parental family income, poor location, inadequate education, and inadequate access to affordable public services. The present essay is based on the concept of “social inclusion” and various strategies adopted by Australia in order to obtain social equality in communities.
MAIN BODY
According to Chesters, (2019), Social inclusion is the process of improvising the terms over which groups and individuals participate in communities/ societies in order to improvise the ability, opportunity, and dignity of disadvantaged people on the ground of their identity. In every country like – Australia, some groups confront obstacles that prevent them from effectively participating in economic, political, and social life. Mays, (2020) stated that these groups may be excluded by the legal system, labor, and land markets as well as having discriminatory beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions. It has been overviewed that disadvantages are often based on age, location, gender, occupation, race, religion, ethnicity, citizenship status, sexual orientation, disability, and gender identity. This kind of social exclusion deprives individuals of security, and dignity and provides an opportunity to live a better life. At the individual level, the most common impact of social inclusion includes poor education, loss of wages, employment outcomes, and lifetime earnings. Satyen, (2021) propounded that discrimination and racism have a vast impact on physical and mental health while at the national level, the economic cost of social inclusion is covered by inevitable gross domestic product and human capital wealth. However, the government is putting efforts to eradicate or minimize social inclusion, and for this there is a growing division of employment opportunities. Due to the emerging underclass of the “working poor” workers may trap in lower-wages, relatively unskilled, or casual jobs, as well as even often under-employed. Most of people earn less than half the median earnings (below the poverty line). As it results, their quality of life gets suffered.
Adair and Lopez, (2021) thought, the post-industrialism Australian economy has a flatter social structure than Britain. Approximately, 92% of Australians define themselves as they belong to the working and middle class, only 2% admitted to belonging to the upper class and the remaining 6% didn’t know. The expansion of education to accommodate the rising demand for higher-skilled professionals has resulted in an increasing number of professional occupations as well as an increased proportion of jobs available in the market. On the basis of the framework of social class, citizens possess and accumulate cultural, economic, and social forms of capital. The classification of these three forms of capital signifies, at any moment, limitations on the ability to get more in social structure while managing others at top positions. Being an egalitarian society, Australia is built on aspects like – fair goes and mateship. People who were treated as lower-class citizens declined to accept they were inferior. There is no doubt to mention that Australia is an egalitarian society at some level. To the viewpoint of Chesters, (2019) the ideological bias of the country against equality is in the language that Australians speak with one another. Furthermore, instead of showing symbolism, the parliament of Australia was intended to reflect its national spirit which signifies that the community is more powerful rather than the government. Broader lawn archways across the buildings enable people to reach on top of the government, hence it symbolizes their power. Satyen, Dort, and Yin, (2020) propounded that Australia is one of the most victorious sporting countries. It has a sub-cultural that takes no pride in its sporting achievements. However, Adair and Lopez, (2021) argued that some citizens dislike sports due to their competitive nature, resulting in various individuals being ranked in ability. Some Australians are dealing with feelings of inferiority by improving themselves while others are becoming hostile against the entire competitive system.
Moreover, there can be seen stronger sentiments toward egalitarianism when compared to cities of communist regimes. The focus is on preserving prime real estate for public use. Rather than selling off the top hills or water frontages to developers, the land is preserved for public areas or car parking. It means Australia doesn’t have a class-conscious culture where prime real estate is sold to developers.
According to Satyen, (2021) in order to eradicate social inclusion within the communities, the country has focused on sustainable development goals that reflect the country's values highly and looking forward to a protective and healthy environment as well as easy access to services and opportunities, inclusive economies, diverse & supportive communities, human rights, prevention for Aboriginal & Torres strait islander cultures and heritage. Government support is more on political, religious, and economic freedoms, the rule of law, liberal democracy, equality, and mutual respect that creates an efficient, strong, cohesive, and fair society (Mays, 2020). The key element for Australia's understanding of sustainable development goals is based on fair go. It implies “leaving no one behind” which calls to take action toward justice, fairness, and equality of opportunity. In addition to this, the country is also developing strategies for 2030 that are based on undertaking to end vital poverty and ensure peace and well-being of people at the global level. In 2017, the country was responsible for global efforts to eradicate poverty, promote sustainable development, and alleviate suffering. The sustainable development goals of Australia contribute to managing long-term prosperity, stability, and productivity. All these strategies are consistent with priorities and long-standing efforts across various sectors.
CONCLUSION
In light of the above discussion, it has been concluded that Australia is a democratic and constitutional federation of states and territories that includes regulatory and governance responsibilities at the national level. Initially, the country was facing social inclusion where there was a lack of education, a low-income of people, and fewer opportunities or services. However, in order to overcome the issue, the country has acquired approaches toward sustainable development goals, including – reducing poverty, raising the level of education, and providing better access to information and equal opportunities to all people thus they can live a better quality of life.
REFERENCES
Adair, T., & Lopez, A. D. (2021). An egalitarian society? Widening inequalities in premature mortality from non-communicable diseases in Australia, 2006–16. International journal of epidemiology, 50(3), 783-796. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyaa226
Chesters, J. (2019). Egalitarian Australia? Associations between family wealth and outcomes in young adulthood. Journal of Sociology, 55(1), 72-89. https://doi.org/10.1177/1440783318777293
Mays, J. (2020). Basic Income in Australia and Disability Conceptions. In Basic Income, Disability Pensions and the Australian Political Economy (pp. 37-55). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-32349-3_2
Satyen, L. (2021). Gender norms in the Indian migrant community in Australia: family, community, and work roles. Journal of Gender Studies, 30(4), 452-464. https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2021.1884535
Satyen, L., Dort, J., & Yin, S. (2020). Gender norms in the Chinese community in Melbourne, Australia: Family and community roles. Australian Psychologist, 55(1), 50-61. https://doi.org/10.1111/ap.12402
