Category: class

10 Apr

7 Comments

Thatcher, the ALP & the dregs of neoliberalism

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If there’s one thing the entire Australian Left agrees on right now it’s that “Thatcherism was a very bad thing”. But beyond that, it may be appropriate to ask what exactly it is that people think was a bad thing. The answer to that question rests on one’s interpretation of what exactly was going on […]

15 Feb

16 Comments

Truth, lies & narratives: What ALP’s crisis is not about

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In a considered piece at ABC’s The Drum on Thursday, Jonathan Green highlighted a phenomenon that seems to overwhelm Australian politics — the inability of simple facts about the Gillard Government’s performance to overcome the stench of crisis hanging over it. He is correct to point out “that in assuming that the mere facts of its […]

11 Oct

Comments Off on GUEST POST: Psy, ‘Gangnam Style’ and the politics of satire

GUEST POST: Psy, ‘Gangnam Style’ and the politics of satire

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Sometimes, just sometimes, a foreign pop music phenomenon breaks through the barriers erected around the English-language markets that dominate global music profit-making. Without doubt the grating dance-pop of South Korean hit “Gangnam Style” represents one of these moments. Complete with a novelty dance, the song’s music video has gone viral on YouTube and the track […]

Filed under: class, Featured, media

20 Mar

Comments Off on Malcolm is not so in the middle

Malcolm is not so in the middle

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Here’s my latest for ABC’s The Drum website, published yesterday. Australian politics has a strange ‘centre’ at the moment, and the dial seems increasingly to fall at the feet of Malcolm Turnbull. His presence on shows like Q&A results in both calls for him to reassume the Liberal Party leadership, and the suggestion he is an ALP member in disguise. Analogies […]

28 Oct

Comments Off on Collingwood supporters and other ‘bogans’

Collingwood supporters and other ‘bogans’

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St Kilda player Stephen Milne provoking the Collingwood cheer squad, as reported by a Federal Court Judge part of the squad that day.  ABC’s The Drum recently published an article by me on Collingwood Supporters and class hatred, related to some of the issues I’ve previously discussed here at Left Flank. Below is the article in full.  Given hype […]

Filed under: class

21 Oct

Comments Off on #OccupyOz captures the mood, but its critics are too busy demanding the possible to be realistic

#OccupyOz captures the mood, but its critics are too busy demanding the possible to be realistic

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There are times when living in Australia is a bit like living in a bubble, sequestered from the massive economic and political convulsions that have marked 2011. It is the kind of situation that allows prominent progressive bloggers, like Greg Jericho (Grog’s Gamut) and Scott Steel (Possum Comitatus), to spew venom and ridicule at the […]

Filed under: Anti-capitalism, class

19 Aug

Comments Off on Maliciousness in memes: #boganmovies and #tightsarenotpants

Maliciousness in memes: #boganmovies and #tightsarenotpants

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BOGAN (Wikipedia): The term bogan is Australian slang, usually pejorative or self-deprecating, for an individual who is recognised to be from a lower class background or someone whose limited education, speech, clothing, attitude and behaviour exemplifies such a background. As the UK riots unfolded, commentary in both the mainstream media and on the Left highlighted […]

Filed under: class

14 Aug

Comments Off on ‘Mama said there’ll be days like this’ — The UK riots, the labour movement and the Left

‘Mama said there’ll be days like this’ — The UK riots, the labour movement and the Left

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Special guest post by KEVIN OVENDEN* What did people expect? Just over a year ago, during the general election campaign in Britain, I remember George Galloway on the stump warning that the last time the Tories came in to replace an already dead Labour government and pursue full-blooded, class war policies, Britain’s cities went up […]

Filed under: age of austerity, class, racism, UK