Peter Saunders is an independent sociologist who writes on welfare reform, social mobility, income inequality and poverty. He publishes with think-tanks including Policy Exchange and Civitas in London and the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney, and is Professor Emeritus of the University of Sussex.

His publications include Social Theory and the Urban Question (1981/1986), A Nation of Home Owners (1990), Privatisation and Popular Capitalism (1994), Capitalism: A Social Audit (1995), Australia’s Welfare Habit (2004), and Social Mobility Myths (2010). He is also co-author of two student text books, An Introduction to British Politics (now in its third edition) and The Survey Methods Workbook (2004).  His books have been translated into German, Italian, Korean, Romanian, Portugese and Mandarin.

He has written extensively for newspapers in Australia and Britain. The Sydney Morning Herald described him as, “The most prominent liberal intellectual in Australia.” Max Hastings described him in the Daily Mail as “that rare beast - a sensible sociologist.” But the Guardian labelled him “an ideas wrecker” for challenging the claims made in The Spirit Level.