Consumerist Society

The current Australian consumerist society is negatively affecting families which in turn affect society as a whole. Since the late eighties we have seen some fundamental changes in the way the typical Australian measures success and quality of life. We have gone from a predominately primary industry and resources sector based economic model to a consumerist, profit driven entity that is almost entirely based on greed. This change has been shamelessly promoted and supported by governments who benefit from these changes in much the same way a company would, by increased productivity and profit. It’s this inherent short term thinking that fails to take into account the long term social issues raised by these changes to society. As little as 20 to 30 years ago it was unusual in a typical family for both parents to work and overtime was an exception, not the rule. Whereas in today’s society it is now unusual for only one of the parents to work and overtime is expected by most, if not all, employers. Arguably the most important thing a child can receive from their parents is time. Time spent with a child is critical to the parent child relationship and it’s this factor that our consumerist society fails to address. Companies, governments and individuals are driven by short term financial gain much to the detriment of social factors such as the family unit. Therefore it can be inferred that this change in Australian society, while beneficial in a profit and productivity context, is disastrous in terms of families and relationships. Which of these is more important to our society’s future?

Paragraph Structure Writing

The current employment trend in modern Australia is having a negative impact on families. The financial realities of modern life is, in a lot of cases, forcing both parents of a typical family to work and many are working extraordinary amounts of overtime to meet the never ending commitments that raising children in this era requires. The cost of living and the costs associated with raising children have risen disproportionately to wages over recent times and currently the ratio of debt to income is at its worst in history. Add to this corporations are demanding more and more productivity from the average worker and quite often large amounts of overtime are required to get the expected work done. Therefore one or even both of the parents are spending time at work which they would have traditionally spent with their children and this is putting unsustainable pressure on the family unit. The extended absence of a parent or parents can often have a detrimental impact on the family as a whole which can lead to relationship breakdown and dysfunction within the family. Even from a purely financial viewpoint these behaviors could cost the country a great deal more in the long run than the monetary benefits such activities bring in the short term due to high levels of relationship breakdown and the flow on effects to individuals that follow such an event. If left unchecked this trend of work first, family second, could have far reaching effects into the fabric of future Australian society.