Bureaucracy and the blue collar world : the Australian case.

Abstract

Poverty is not new. Its existence has long been acknowledged1 but its social aspect has changed. Poverty is now regarded as a problem to be solved.2 It is now related to economic, political and status deprivation (Cohen and Hodges 1962:306; Haggstrom 1965:326; Gans 1968:205; Milbrand 1974: 183; Townsend 1974:15) and appears to be aggravated by the bureaucratic trend of modern society.

Charles Booth's study of poverty amidst plenty in England in the late nineteenth century was indicative of the changed attitude (Booth 1902; First Series). He recognised it as a condition of deprivation that was socially determined rather than God-given3 or the result of some natural law." Nearly a century later the problem remains although its outward appearance has changed. Booth defined the 'poor' as those with a "...fairly regular income, such as 18/— to 21/— a week for a moderate family, and by 'very poor' those who fall below this standard, whether from chronic irregularity of work, sickness, or a large number of young children." (Booth 1887:328)