Are tuition still relevant in Australia? To facilitate this question, readings by Karl Marx, Fredrick Engels, Max Weber, Helen Marshall, RW Connell, and TH Irving will be considered. Connell and Irving (1992) identify the “class structure” in Australia with the “ruling class” owning property/business, and the “working class” in the sense of workers “acting together to resist the capitalists”. This is relevant today in Australia, where the privileged hold the majority of power and wealth. Furthermore, the exploitation of the “working class” continues to maintain less power in the workplace and less wealth. Connell and Irving offer a simple view of class structure (1992: p 40): "Class" at least is a term with a defined and classical meaning, referring to a particular type of society. When we talk about the “class structure” in Australia, we are saying that the facts of power, privilege and poverty in this country have a definite pattern, familiar across much of the world. Helen Marshall (2005) reveals a simplistic view of what classes are and the inequalities that exist within them; Marshall. Part 2, (2005: p1 and p6).(p1) In general, class is about economic and social inequality... (p6) We have a tendency for groups of advanced people to congregate together and groups of disadvantaged people to congregate in so that inequalities persist from generation to generation. Marshall (2005) identifies that “financial inequality” is not the only cause of “social inequality” but is often interrelated. She suggests that education plays a significant role in “class stratification.” Marshall (2005: p1), Part 2:Table 1: CHANGES IN INCOME DISTRIBUTION FROM 1968-69 TO 1999-2000Decile 1968-69 1999-2000% of total...... middle of sheet...... x, K. (1959) 'Classes', Capital (Volume 3), Moscow: Progress Publishers, pp. 885-886. Reading manual 4, p 16, p 18); Study Guide SGY14 (2006/1) Social Sciences in Australia, School of Arts, Media and Culture Faculty of Arts, Griffith University, Brisbane.Weber, M. (1968) Reading 5 Status Groups & Classes, in G. Ross and C . Wittich (ed.), Economy and Society, Berkeley: University of California Press, (pp 302-307). Study Guide SGY14 (2006/1) Social Sciences in Australia, School of Arts, Media and Culture Faculty of Arts, Griffith University, Brisbane.Weber, M. (1968) Status Groups & Classes, in G. Ross and C. Wittich (ed.) Economy and Society, Berkeley: University of California Press, (pp 302-307). SGY14 Manual, (2007/1). Social science in Australia, reading 5 (pp17-18). School of Arts, Media and Culture, Faculty of Arts, Griffith University, Brisbane.