CW: Classism
The Problem of Compassion By Donna Burroughs | Graphics by Mia Dugandzic
It’s difficult to read the news these days. Every day, you’re faced with an onslaught of bad news. Cuts to Job Seeker and other benefits will impoverish millions of Australians, both major parties continue to advocate for the coal industry, as if last summer’s bushfire devastation is all forgotten about, and proposed fee hikes in the university sector will leave low-socioeconomic students with less control over their futures. In my experience, what makes such stories particularly difficult to read is the blatant lack of compassion that characterises them. Such policies are detrimental to social cohesion and negatively impact the individual lives of millions. Being forced to choose between paying rent and buying food has detrimental impacts on mental health, as well as the economy at large. Refusal to act on climate change will threaten families in Australia’s backyard and abroad. And forcing prospective Arts students into decades of debt,while many federal politicians received their Bachelor of Arts for free, is simply cruel. But these policies aren’t just at odds with my personal sensitivities; they’re at odds with what Australia’s supposed values are. There’s a lot of opinions out there on what constitutes ‘Australian values’ and one loud voice in the conversation is the Department of Immigration. They state that Australian values are embodied by a: ‘Spirit of egalitarianism that embraces mutual respect, tolerance, fair play, and compassion for those in need and pursuit of the public good.’ Evidently these values aren’t reflected in public policy. Locking low income students out of arts degrees isn’t ‘fair’, and forcing millions into poverty during a pandemic doesn’t really scream ‘compassion for those in need.’ And yet, I doubt any Australian, from either side of politics would deny the importance of such values, or better yet, the goodness of such ideals. So, what explains the discrepancy between Australia’s supposed values, and the values actually exhibited by our political representatives? Humans have never been particularly kind to each other. But neoliberalism has excelled at entrenching and encouraging the worst instincts of human nature. Pioneered by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and US President Ronald Reagan, neoliberalism rejects the idea of common interest, prioritises economic growth at all costs and places the blame for poverty on the poor themselves. It is a system that ‘has convinced people they are defined by selfishness, greed, and vice’ and proceeds to celebrate the process of exploiting those around you in the name of personal gain. Kindness and empathy have been relegated to the private sphere; you’re a saint if you volunteer to distribute food to homeless people, but you mustn’t ask why the government doesn’t intervene to help them.
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