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Small businesses will have to increase the costs of their goods and services
to meet the initial implementation costs of the Goods and Services Tax and to
meet the ongoing compliance costs. This will create a loss of business from
those members of the public on low incomes who simply cannot afford the
increased living expenses. It will also increase the rate of unemployment by
forcing the small businesses to reduce their operating expenditure, an
expenditure that largely consists of employee wages. This in turn will leave the
small business operator in a vulnerable position in a competitive market place.
Big businesses will take advantage of the struggling small businesses and
deliberately undercut them, leaving the small business operators no alternative
but to close down. This demonstrates that a capitalist economy promotes social
stratification and that social inequality is based on the economic organisation
of society and the political power to dominate and coerce.. (Sargent, Nilan and
Winter, 1997, p.216). A perspective adhering to the sociological theory of
conflict. The conflict theory is based on the notion that dominant groups use
their power to coerce situations to serve their own interests in detriment to
subordinate groups. In relation to Australian society and the current economic
discussions, the conflict theory is applicable to and supported by the
subordinate groups. The beneficiaries of the Goods and Services Tax demonstrate
the alliance of the Government with those of wealth and social influence in
Australian society.
The introduction of the Goods and Services Tax can only reinforce the
existing social inequality therefore creating definite conflict between the
classes. In contrast, the ideology of functionalism could be viewed as the
perspective of the dominant groups. The theory of functionalism is the necessary
dominance of the ruling class over society and according to Sargent et al (1997)
in relation to Australia's current economic climate, functionalism is derived
from the philosophy of those who benefit from the power relationships
established in Australian society. (p.214). This ideology is based on the
assumption that for society to function effectively it is necessary to support
social stratification therefore maintaining the order or status quo. In
Australian society, this ideology is instilled through the socialisation process
and is an important means by which Australian capitalism controls the ideas of
subordinate groups. (Sargent et al 1997, p.214). Although these perspectives are
from opposite ends of the spectrum, they both demonstrate inequity is the
mainstay of capitalist economies. A key economic objective of the Government is
to liberate the potential of Australia's unique human and natural assets through
removing the dead hand of centralised control.. (The Howard Government, 1998,
p.11) yet centralised control could not be any more alive than what it is in
Australia today. A prime example of this is the limited concentration of media
ownership in Australia and its connection with large corporations. The fact that
there are so few companies responsible for the commercial media in Australia,
and that the commercial media have at least 90 percent of the television and
radio audience, means that the general interests they represent dominate.
(Bennett, 1992, p.127) The media is a key agent of the socialisation process and
therefore has extensive influence on Australian society. To Australian society
the media is often portrayed as and believed to be a reliable authority and
source of information, responsible for reporting facts in an unbiased and
well-balanced manner yet private economic interests own the media.
The institution of the media is corporate business therefore capitalist in
its political and economic nature. The power structure of the centralised
economic system is what they seek to maintain, therefore the media has excessive
political influence and the material that is persuasively conveyed to the public
by the media often reflects their need to endorse and uphold the present
organisation of power and wealth.. (Sargent et al, 1997, p.96). By adopting the
conflict approach and applying it to the media and its corporate owners, it is
obvious how significant the role of the media is in the maintenance of a
capitalist society and for those of power and wealth who benefit. ..the media
are seen to be owned by dominant classes who use them as a mechanism to serve
their own interests. The media thus come to play a major role in the
transmission of ideologies. (Macionis et al, 1997, p.587) This situation is not
localised to Australia only, with the development of a global economy the
effects of capitalism are significant in societies worldwide. This is
demonstrated by the expansion of holdings of powerful tycoons such as Rupert
Murdoch which incorporates embracing the free market of countries such as the
United States and Europe, therefore increasing the concentration of media
ownership and capitalist activities on a global level. This supports an
important issue within the conflict paradigm that may be applied to the media
and it's influence on capitalist societies. This issue is the economic base of
the media and Macionis et al (1997, p.587) write in particular the ways in which
they follow a profit motive, and the ways in which big business conglomerates
come to shape them. These powerful conglomerates control the international media
and therefore the media coverage. The media coverage that consistently
disregards those individuals on the outside of mainstream society because they
lack economic power and resources, the commodities that support capitalism. A
crucial element of this is advertising. Advertising is structured to maintain
the status quo and to be profitable, therefore advertisements are presented
through stereotypical images of people and situations, and in fact are
representative images of the dominant group's culture and lifestyle. An
acceptable situation for the dominant group but these images are socially
harmful, they reinforce the social barriers that social movements have been
challenging for years, after all how often are low-income families or
homosexuals featured in day to day advertisements? Capitalist societies are
marked by a striking inequality of wealth.
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