Class in contemporary New Zealand Society

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When asked to describe contemporary New Zealand society, class is not a term that will occur to most people. The word conjures up Dickensian images of factories and poverty, haves and have-nots; and radicalism such as the works of Marx. Certainly, not today's modern society. If asked, most people would probably hold the view that it is a “relic of a vanishing industrial capitalism and a vestige of outmoded social theory, with little relevance in a world whose novelty has been variously signalled by the prefix of 'post' (Ongley, 2013). This is especially true in New Zealand, a country widely believed to have been class-less from the beginning. However, as will be shown, these beliefs, this source of national pride is based on a myth. Not only will class divisions in the form of social inequality be shown to exist today, but the theories of Marx can still be used in examining New Zealand society almost two hundred years after they were first put forth.

Karl Marx was writing at a time where issues of class, in particular the welfare of the working class was very much a prominent feature of social debate. The industrial revolution had just ended and the changes it had wrought in society were very much under the microscope. With this focus on working class conditions, Marx came to believe the working class would be the source of social revolution once they can to realize their situation and what he saw to be its cause. Therefore, they became a focus of his study. In his study of class, Marx came to define it in relation to the ownership of capital (McLennan, McManus, & Spoonley, 2010). He defined society (capitalist, industrial) as consisting of three classes. Capitalists (Bourgeoisie) live by investing capital and own t...

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...Bennett, A. (2014). Income gap growing – poll. Retrieved April 22, 2014 from http:www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11229270

McLennan, G., McManus, R., & Spoonley, P. (2010). Exploring Society: Sociology for New Zealand students (3rd ed.). Auckland, New Zealand: Pearson Education New Zealand.

Ongley, P. (2013). Work and inequality in neoliberal New Zealand. New Zealand Sociology, 28(3), 136-163.

Rashbrooke, M. (2014). The inequality debate – an introduction. Wellington, New Zealand: Bridget Williams Books.

Roper, B. (1997). The changing class structure. In Rudd, C., & Roper, B. (Eds.), The political economy of New Zealand. (pp.79-99). Auckland. New Zealand: Oxford University Press.

The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand. (2014). Module 2: Constructing difference. In 74111 Aotearoa New Zealand Society. Lower Hutt: Author.

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