Of public concern : contemporary Australian social issues

PREFACEnn In an introduction to an earlier book of mine on social issues, formernprime minister E.G. Whitlam remarked that qthe Australian debatenon social and economic issues has been enfeebled for many years bynthe reluctance of academics to enter the market-place of politics.nThis reluctance often stemmed from a pessimism, a feeling thatneven if universities were to proffer their ideas they would be ignored.nIn the five years since these words were written the situationnhas changed markedly. There is now some cross-fertilizationnbetween academics and politicians, and in a variety of commissionsnand public service inquiries Australian academics are playing anmajor role.n However, the academic industry generally and social sciencenspecifically have remained virtually removed from public issues. Nonsystematic social theory and research currently illuminate keynnational issues on a continuing basis. Few university coursesnemphasize social issues or define the scope and limits of scientific effortnin meeting social problems. As well, university lecturers rarelynorganize their courses around a multi-discipline perspective allowingnstudents to benefit from eclectic and broadly based approachesnto current social problems.n Of course the ethos of many social scientists in Australia worksnagainst a discussion of community social problems. Social scientistsntraditionally select research problems not primarily for their importancenbut for their scientific manageability. They also maintain anstrict separation between the social scientist's responsibilities as anscientist and his moral and political responsibility as a citizen. Itnseems to me, and to an increasingly large number of othernsociologists, that this dichotomy is not logically possible to maintain.nHowever, attempts to maintain it have led to an obsessive preoccupationnwith the trivial and a neglect of important issues confrontingnthe community.n This book does not attempt to broaden social science effort or tonargue that the old distinctions between knowledge and action,ntheory and practice, are artificially restrictedmseveral recent booksndo this very well. Instead, it aims to present to intelligent men andnwomen some of the major dimensions of vital social problems confrontingnAustralia today.n Ten important issues are presented. Discrimination and crime andncriminal justice are discussed from the point of view of how they affectnthe average Australian; privacy and equality from the point ofnview of whether they are valued in our society. The role of thenmedia, the law, and unions in contemporary Australian society arencritically analysed, and questions relating to poverty and consumerism,nissues that directly or indirectly effect every citizen, arenclearly put forward. In another provocative chapter the role of thenhelping professionsmpsychologists, lawyers, doctors, social workers,nand so onmis raised. Do these professions spend most of their timenhelping Australians or helping themselves?n The object of this book is to focus attention on social issues thatnsubstantially affect the quality and style of living in contemporarynAustralia. The book is offered not only to tertiary students but alsonto those intelligent men and women who are still concerned with improvingnmore than the economic condition of Australian society.n