Egalitarianism is still very much at the centre of public policy debate in Australia. Many of the most pertinent issues - unemployment, labour market reform, budgets, welfare reform and the state of the health and education systems - are essentially about distribution and social priorities. However, there is no mistaking that Australia is in the throes of a gradual and often deliberate process of disintegration of old egalitarian values and the outlook is more of the same. Australia's economic and social gap is widening. Why then is Australian egalitarianism under threat? Is it right to "blame" economists for this or are cultural, social and political forces more important? Is it the consequence of economic rationalism? Globalization? Or the result of political leadership? At the end of the day what do the effects of the adoption of less egalitarian policies mean for the overall well-being of ordinary Australians? And what are the options for the future? In this concise analysis, Fred Argy clarifies the underlying cultural, moral and philosophical forces responsible for the changing face of egalitarianism, and outlines an ambitious, but economically and politically viable, social reform agenda for the future.

Table of Contents

PrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1 The changing face of Australian egalitarianism2 The economic sustainability of egalitarian policies3 The social effectiveness of egalitarian policies4 Normative values of policy advisers and commentators5 Global capital markets and the policy 'straightjacket'6 Changing community and political values7 Where to from here?GlossaryNotesBibliography