Perspectives on Work-Life Relationship and Their Impact on Real Wage Levels in Modern Australia: A Comparative Analysis of Karl Marx and John Mill

Abstract

Karl Marx (1818-1883) and John Mill (1806-1873) are two worldly philosophers and economy scholars who have deeply influence on people’s social, political, and economical perspective nowadays. By analysing their works, Marx’s The Communist Manifesto (1848) and Capital: Critique of Political Economy (1867) and Mill’s work Utilitarianism (1861) and On Liberty (1859) , the two perspectives on work-life relationship can be compared and used to increase real wage levels in modern Australia. By establishing minimum wage and other laws and regulations and trade unions have been the traditional method in Australia to ensure the income level of the people.However, after facing the blow to the Australian economy from the pandemic era, Australian people in the post-epidemic era have obviously not recovered from it.On the one hand, the failure of traditional tools means has led to the rising unemployment rate during the pandemic, and the continuous strikes of trade unions have also affected people’s normal production and life.On the other hand, the Fed’s continuous raising the interest rate since September and have harvested global wealth.This has led to inflation in Australia, which has peaked at 7.75%, and is accompanied by a 3.5% decline in real wages. Mill believes that Europe was able to lead the Asian countries in the 19th century because of its cultural diversity and diff erence. And the totalitarian state and paternalism will lead to the shrinking and sluggishness of the people’s thinking.