Watching the defectives: Observers of the underclass in the USA,Britain and Austialia

Abstract

This paper explores 'the underclass debate' in three countries; the USA, Britain and Australia. It is suggested that a comparative approach clarifies some of the key issues in the construction of the underclass debate. The author takes a critical perspective on the underclass debate in both Britain and the USA. The absence, to date, of an academic debate over the underclass in Australia is considered interesting and some speculative reasons for this are proposed. The focus an the observers of the underclass, rather than the disparate groups assigned to it, suggests that if poverty and dependency are to be valid items on the academic agenda in future a more sensitive and reflective approach, which makes explicit the perspective of the ohserver, will be vital.¹