Homelessness in Australia, Conflict theory PDF

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Throughout the world, Australia is seen as one of the most desired holiday destinations and is portrayed as a non-discriminating and fortunate country. Australians are often described by tourism companies as living in a ‘lucky country’ (Australian Travel and Tourism Network, 2014). Although Australia is depicted as a resourceful country, capable of supporting its growing population, the reality is somewhat distorted. Similar to other countries, Australia also has a wide range of social problems, one of such is homelessness. On any given night in Australia, 1 in 200 people are homeless (Homelessness Australia, 2012). In order to put this social problem into perspective, the use of the conflict theory, a social concept, will be used to clarify the problem. As such, homelessness as a social problem will be defined in terms of the negative impact it creates and also to what extent homelessness is seen throughout Australian societies. Furthermore, before applying the Conflict Theory to homelessness, this theory will firstly be explained in reference to the underlying social concepts that govern the Conflict Theory. Combined, this social concept and social problem will persuade viewers to understand the growing social problem that is homelessness and also how the conflict theory, supported by empirical evidence, helps to understand and explain homelessness within Australia.

Throughout Australia, there is growing concerns for social problems as they affect society as a whole. In order to identify and resolve a social problem within a society, it is beneficial to be familiar with a generalized definition of a social problem. A social problem is a term often used to refer to certain issues within a society which become undesirable. These issues often disrupt or damage societal values or beliefs to the point where society labels them as detrimental to their wellbeing (Best, 2015). Additionally, homelessness can be labelled as a social problem throughout Australian society as it satisfies the definition of a social problem. Homelessness is defined as being exposed to un-suitable accommodation settings that are

inadequate to live in. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the definition of homelessness includes both a physical home and also the conceptualized idea of a home such as being ensured security, safety and privacy (Australian Bureau of Statistics ((ABS)), 2012). Furthermore, homelessness can be identified as a social problem throughout Australia in terms of the impact it creates upon societies. Homelessness creates a detrimental impact upon Australian societies as it restricts a society from reaching its full potential by denying homeless members the right to be treated equally and integrated into the community. Homelessness is often recognized as the by-product of structural inequality within a society. This concept refers to the structural bias generated within social networks, governments and companies. It creates a sense of a hierarchy which creates a maldistribution of resources such as jobs, health services ect. (Boundless, 2015).

Consequently, societies are required to spend additional resources to assist the homeless members of a community, instead of other communal needs. Therefore, societies are donating already limited resources to support homeless people whilst the society as a whole becomes disadvantaged as the cost falls upon tax payers. Furthermore, the extent of homelessness is quite often unknown to everyday people, despite there being 105,237 homeless people on one given night in 2011 (Australian Bureau of Statistic, 2011). A study conducted by Flatau, Thielking, MacKenzie and Steen (2012), comprised of 298 homeless young people with an average age of 18 years and which 61% were females. This study represents the growing social problem that homelessness creates as it reflects how the younger generations are facing difficulty in finding suitable housing. Furthermore, according to this study, the extent of homelessness throughout Australia is seen as unequally distributed. Within NSW and VIC 25% of the study were homeless whilst only 7% were homeless in QLD.

Therefore, the impact and extent of this social problem is seen Australia wide, adding to societies determination to remedy the problem of homelessness.

Developed by Karl Marx in the 19th Century, the conflict theory is a sociological perspective designed to understand how a society functions. Marx focused this perspective on determining how industrial capitalism affects society in terms of the division of labor, class struggle and alienation. The Conflict theory assumes a macro view of society where society is believed to be in a constant struggle over resources, consequently resulting in an unequal system (Bessant & Watts, 2007). In reference to the division of labor, the conflict theory proposes that members of society, who are powerful and also have great political, economic and social resources, are the dominant members of society. Therefore, how labor is distributed throughout society is influenced greatly by the dominant members of society, which in turn, has an immense effect upon the rest of society (Crossman, 2012).

Another main concept of the conflict theory is the idea of class struggle within a capitalist society. Marx argued that a class system is built upon a foundation of inequality, of which some members are forced to generate resources to support the society’s economic status. (Bessant & Watts, 2007). Additionally, the positioning of members within the class system is dependent upon their role in regards to the production of resources for the society. As such, this concept of the conflict theory is directly associated with the economic status of society and its members. For this reason, there are three main types of class as proposed by Marx. Firstly there is the proletarian class, who essentially are forced to sell their labor to earn an income. Then there is the capitalist class, formerly known as the bourgeoisie, who as described by Ollman (2015), are responsible for the hire of employees and social production. At the top of the social class, as depicted by the conflict theory, are the land owners,

privileged enough to own large sections of land. This sense of inequality within a society is crucial to the continuation and survival of a society as it provides adequate resources to support the society through means of production.

Alienation, as one of the three main concepts of the conflict theory, is also based upon the class struggle within a society. Alienation, as defined by Patnaik (2009), is where the worker/laborer is made to feel alienated from the products derived from their labor. This is achieved by the higher classes controlling the distribution of resources and as such, the bourgeoisie’s labor (Cox, 1998).

As stated, homelessness within Australia is a growing social problem. Results from a 2011 census have shown an increase of 8 percent over a five year period, from 89,728 to 105,237 (Homelessness Australia, b, 2012). Homelessness throughout Australia is a common sight within many societies yet the cause and reasoning behind it is commonly unknown. A survey consisting of over 3000 participants throughout Australia was used to understand society’s perceptions of reasons behind homelessness. The survey returned results stating that 89% of the study believed it was due to mental illness and drug abuse, followed by family breakdown at 86% and economic problems at 80%. This study represents society’s misperception of the main causes of homelessness as in fact, domestic violence is the main cause of homelessness within Australia (Mission Australia, 2015). As stated within the conflict theory, the division of labor throughout a society plays a major role in determining the economic status of individuals. As homeless people are less privileged in regards to having suitable employment available to them, they experience the detrimental effects of the division of labor. This division of labor affects homeless people immensely by keeping the economically, politically and socially resourceful members of society in power. Therefore, the division of labor creates

a social barrier of employment which is difficult for homeless people to overcome (Homelessness Australia, c, 2012). Additionally, the conflict theory proposed the idea of a class struggle throughout a society. Society was defined as having been built upon foundations of inequality of which the lower class is forced to sell their labor to supply the society with resources to better their economic status. Furthermore, as a society members position in regards to the class struggle concept is based solely upon their ability to produce resources, this forces homeless people to the bottom of the class system. As stated by “the labor market is perceived to alleviate a person's situation of homelessness” (Shier, Jones & Graham, 2102). Therefore, the class struggle as defined throughout the conflict theory has an extremely negative influence upon homeless people as it restricts them from being treated equally throughout society. This consequently disadvantages the members of society from being financially stable thus forcing them into homelessness.

Moreover, the concept of alienation as depicted within the conflict theory also has an effect upon how homeless people are treated unfairly within Australian society. As alienation is where a worker is made to feel alienated from the products of their labor, it creates a sense of unworthiness and the feeling of being unwanted within the society, despite being crucial to the society’s interests. As a percentage of homeless people contribute to society in terms of the production of resources, the idea of homeless people as useless and detrimental to society is an insensitive generalization of a smaller section of the population (Shier, Jones & Graham, 2102). In conclusion, homelessness throughout Australia continues to be a growing problem despite raised awareness. The conflict theory, developed by Marx, helps to explain this social problem by defining social concepts that can be directly related to homelessness. Through the

division of labor, class struggle and alienation, homelessness within Australia can be related to in order to assist in explaining this increasing social problem.

References

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2011). Census of Population and Housing: Estimating homelessness (Cat. no. 2049.0). Canberra, Australia: ABS.

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2012). A statistical definition of homelessness. (Cat. no. 4922.0). Canberra, Australia: ABS.

Australian Travel and Tourism Network. (2014).Australian Tourist Information. Retrieved from the Australian travel and tourism network website: http://www.atn.com.au/info/tourist-information.html

Best, J. (2015). Social Problems. Journal of Sociology. doi:10.1093/OBO/9780199756384-0052

Bessant, J. & Watts, R. (2007). Sociology Australia (3rd ed.).Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin.

Boundless. “Homelessness.” Boundless Sociology. Boundless, 21 Jul. 2015. Retrieved 06 Nov. 2015 from https://www.boundless.com/sociology/textbooks/boundless-sociologytextbook/population-and-urbanization-17/urban-life-124/homelessness-703-10485/

Cox, J. (1998). An introduction to Marx’s theory of alienation. Journal of the Socialist Workers Party, 79, 218-231.

Crossman, A. (2012).Conflict Theory. Retrieved from http://sociology.about.com/od/Sociological-Theory/a/Conflict-Theory.htm

Flatau, Thielking, MacKenzie and Steen (2012). The cost of youth homelessness in Australian study. The Australian Youth Homeless Experience. Retrieved from http://apo.org.au/files/Resource/pdf_published_version_0.pdf.

Homelessness Australia. (2012). Homelessness in Australia. Retrieved from the Homelessness Australia website: http://www.homelessnessaustralia.org.au/index.php/about-homelessness/fact-sheets

Homelessness Australia. b, (2012). What is homelessness? Retrieved from the Homelessness Australia website: http://www.homelessnessaustralia.org.au/index.php/abouthomelessness/doing-a-project-on-homelessness

Homelessness Australia. c, (2012). Myth busting our homeless - Why they’re not who you think they are. Retrieved from the Homelessness Australia website: http://www.homelessnessaustralia.org.au/index.php/42-news/87-mythbusting-ourhomeless

Mission Australia. (2015). what is homelessness? Retrieved from the Mission Australia website: https://www.missionaustralia.com.au/what-we-do/homelessness-socialhousing/what-is-homelessness

Ollman, B. (2015).Marx’s use of class. Dialectical Marxism. Retrieved from https://www.nyu.edu/projects/ollman/docs/class.php

Shier, M.L., Jones, M.E. & Graham, J.R. (2012). Employment difficulties experienced by employed homeless people: Labor market factors that contribute to and maintain homelessness. Journal of Poverty, 16, (1), 27-47. doi: 10.1080/10875549.2012.640522...