'Grassroots', 'Elites' and the New 'Working Class' of Papua New Guinea

Cox, John

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'Grassroots', 'Elites' and the New 'Working Class' of Papua New Guinea

Date

2014

Authors

Cox, John

Publisher

Canberra, ACT : Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University

Abstract

PNG is often imagined to be a country divided into 'grassroots' and 'elites'. However, this paper explores the position of the middle class, or 'working class' in the contemporary PNG idiom, and argues that this important group is deserving of more sustained attention and should not simply be dismissed as an 'out of touch' urban elite.