Task-
Australia was founded on a belief in egalitarianism and the ‘fair go’. The people looked to the power of government to safeguard their standard of living. But when the world changed in the 1980s Australia had to embrace a pro-market economy and reinvent itself. The challenge has been to maintain fairness in a globalised economy.
In your essay-
Define egalitarianism;
• Outline the origins of egalitarianism as one of the founding ‘pillars’ of the Australian settlement; and
• Critically assess whether the concept of egalitarianism remains relevant in
contemporary, modern Australia, especially in light of growing inequality and the political consequences of policies such as John Howard’s Workchoices and the perceived
‘unfairness’ of the 2014 Federal Budget.
You will be assessed on your ability to:
• access relevant information from a variety of academic and non-academic sources;
• define egalitarianism as it used in the Australia socio-political context;
• evaluate the extent to which notions of egalitarianism remain relevant in contemporary Australia, especially in light of contemporary political events;
• construct a piece of written work that is analytical in its approach and which shows
clear evidence of thorough preparation and critical thought; and
• use a clear, concise writing style that that is scholarly in its approach, conforms to the conventions of the English language (i.e. spelling, grammar, punctuation and syntax etc), and which uses the appropriate referencing format.
