Economic wealth and political power in Australia, 1788-2010

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Author(s)
Murray, Georgina
Chesters, Jenny
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2012
Metadata
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Georgina Murray and Jenny Chesters Although Australia is sometimes regarded as an egalitarian society, evidence shows that inequalities in the distribution of wealth are pronounced. We note in the historiography of this economic inequality that it has it featured so little in Australian social history. Our argument is that economic historians should detail the relationship between economic wealth and political power within Australia to tease out the implications of inequality over the ability of the Australian state to govern from the beginning of European settlement. Drawing on various sources of data, we examine who the ...
View more >Georgina Murray and Jenny Chesters Although Australia is sometimes regarded as an egalitarian society, evidence shows that inequalities in the distribution of wealth are pronounced. We note in the historiography of this economic inequality that it has it featured so little in Australian social history. Our argument is that economic historians should detail the relationship between economic wealth and political power within Australia to tease out the implications of inequality over the ability of the Australian state to govern from the beginning of European settlement. Drawing on various sources of data, we examine who the wealthy are and how they generate, accumulate and maintain their wealth to provide an insight into the political power associated with economic wealth.
View less >
View more >Georgina Murray and Jenny Chesters Although Australia is sometimes regarded as an egalitarian society, evidence shows that inequalities in the distribution of wealth are pronounced. We note in the historiography of this economic inequality that it has it featured so little in Australian social history. Our argument is that economic historians should detail the relationship between economic wealth and political power within Australia to tease out the implications of inequality over the ability of the Australian state to govern from the beginning of European settlement. Drawing on various sources of data, we examine who the wealthy are and how they generate, accumulate and maintain their wealth to provide an insight into the political power associated with economic wealth.
View less >
Journal Title
Labour History
Volume
103
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
© 2012 Australian Society for the Study of Labour History. The attached file is reproduced here in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal's website for access to the definitive, published version.
Subject
Heterodox economics
Historical studies
History and philosophy of specific fields