This thesis is a study of social divisions and an assessment of the impact of neoliberalism upon them. Its purpose is to investigate the nature of contemporary social divisions, and whether or not the ????underclass???? is a useful way of conceiving the social and economic marginalisation of some individuals. The underclass thesis crystallises in a powerful and contentious way some fundamental premises that underpin the neoliberal philosophy, namely that the welfare state is considered a threat to freedom, discourages work, and is socially and economically damaging. Thus there ought to be a reduced role for the state in the provision of welfare. There are two fundamental weaknesses in social democratic critics???? contributions to debates about welfare reform. The first relates to a focus on residual welfare and measurements of poverty, largely neglecting the systems of power that underlie welfare distribution. The second relates to the omission of agency. Critics???? responses have tended to ignore the behaviour of the welfare beneficiaries targeted by current reform. In order to address both of these issues, I have formulated a critical post-traditional paradigm of social divisions. The study comprises three stages. The first is an historical overview of neoliberal policy developments and a quantitative analysis of social divisions. The findings indicate that neoliberal nations have the lowest commitment to welfare, and the highest levels of poverty and widening inequality. In Australia, labour market changes and educational underachievement are likely to contribute to new and emerging divisions, and the cumulative nature of disadvantage is apparent within low socio-economic areas. The second stage of the study examines the policies of the Howard Coalition Government in Australia and focuses on the prevalence of the underclass phenomenon in current welfare reform. Records central to the Government????s welfare reform agenda are analysed to examine policy makers???? normative beliefs. The findings reveal that the underclass thesis is an ideological construct that legitimises a reduction of welfare provision and control of the unemployed. The third stage of the study focuses on the experiences of unemployment among young people, and the views and experiences of welfare providers who work with them. The data show that individuals make decisions about their lives from the range of options they perceive to be available to them at a particular point in time. These options are not limited to those made available by the provisions of the welfare state, nor are they solely the product of inter-generational welfare. The welfare providers enforce the Government????s position on welfare reform by endorsing a version of the underclass thesis in their work and directing their interventions at the individual. Considered together, the findings reveal that a conservative neoliberal social policy fails to capture the complex interaction that occurs between individuals and their social environment, and the impact this has on their labour market activities. By successfully converting the problem of welfare dependency into a private issue, a neoliberal social policy is legitimised and current social arrangements are maintained. / PhD Doctorate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/269061 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Martin, Sonia |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | EN-AUS |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Copyright 2006 Sonia Martin |
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