Social Classes
Ancient China has developed a social class system, which I will take you through. The emperor of the time, or ruler is at the top of the social structure. The gentry came second and were appointed government officials. Then comes the peasant farmers, they were valued higher in society than artisans because they provided food for the entire community, thus a valuable member of society. Craftsmen and artisans were considered third lowest as they were not vital to the functioning of society, but nevertheless higher than traders because they made their own goods to sell. Traders comes next because although they could be very wealthy, they were buying and selling other people's products, they were not considered as respectable members of society. At lowest of the social hierarchy is the slaves, or captured soldiers. (12)
Peasants
Peasants make up the majority of the population, although high on the social pyramid, there were powerless in national and state matters. Their lives has changed very little over thousands of years. They have always just been farmers who raised animals and nurtured plants. Most peasants were tenants working land owned by the gentry. About half of all their produce was given to the gentry, on top of all the taxes given to the government. During times when produce was thin, they would be forced to sell their children into slavery to get enough money to feed themselves. Peasants had to cope with natural disasters by themselves, as the government gave little to no help to them. During more turbulent times peasants always lived in fear of war, as the majority of the army are conscripted peasants. Their main weapon in the army are halberds with bronze blades. Later they changed weapons and instead used the sword, with blades made from iron. Many foot soldiers, or conscripted peasants died in battle, and those who were captured can expect to be executed or sold into slavery. (13)
(Connors history, 2016)
Why this class system would not work in Australia
This class stem would not work in Australia as there are laws banning slavery, so the bottommost level would be gone. Australia uses a democratic system, so although we have a president, we don't have an emperor. Due to technology, a small portion of the population can do the farming required for the entire population, so there are no peasants in Australian society. Australian society is based on equality and free speech, so there are no classes in the general public. Instead the Australian Society is more like this:
1. President
2. Government officials
3. General Public
1. President
2. Government officials
3. General Public