Reinventing Australia
(Hugh Mackay)
In his book, Reinventing Australia, social researcher Hugh Mackay suggests that many contemporary Australians experience what he terms 'The Big Angst'. While the book was published in 1993, most of its themes are still pertinent today. A dictionary definition of angst describes it as the feeling of dread or fear. According to Mackay, many Australians are frustrated with their individual circumstances. Mackay outlines how the considerable social, cultural, political, economic and technological change of the second half of the twentieth century have contributed to an all-pervading sense of anxiety. The rise in international terrorism since 1993 could also be identified as an additional cause for anxiety if the book were to be written in 2006.
Hugh Mackay discusses a number of issues in Reinventing Australia. Among those issues is how personal stress has resulted from changing family circumstances, including how the concept of the Australian male as the 'breadwinner' has been in decline, resulting in men having to adjust to redefined gender roles both at home and at work. A pivotal step in the possible increase in family anxiety was the passing of the Family Law Act in 1974, which paved the way for the unprecedented divorce rates of the 1980s and 1990s. Additionally, Mackay also makes reference to how some Anglo-Celtic Australians have been culturally unsettled by what he terms 'New Australians', whose cultural baggage undermines 'the Australian way of life'. Perhaps this latent anxiety has been more recently evident in the 'Cronulla riots' of late 2005.
From the evidence that he presents, Hugh Mackay draws the conclusion that most Australians have been affected by what he calls the 'Age of Anxiety'. Retirees worry about the government's commitment to funding their futures. Men and women grapple with changing social roles at home and at work. Working mothers continue to juggle professional and domestic responsibilities. Young people struggle with finding suitable employment. All Australians face job insecurity. Despite the difficulties and the seemingly endemic anxiety, Mackay manages to put a positive spin on Australia's future, which is heartening.
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