To his credit Bob Brown was one of the clearest opponents of Pauline Hanson when she rose to infamy in the 1990s, not something the major party leaders could have been accused of at the time. But more recently he has pushed both population limits arguments and a line against skilled migration. Yet Hanson used […]
23 May
Comments Off on Interface Journal: Repression and Social Movements
> A new issue of the journal Interface was released today: Repression and Social Movements. I’m the Oceania editor, and am currently seeking a co-editor to assist me with South-East Asia. For our Australian readers, note there is an article by Liz Thompson and Ben Rosenzweig on international students and the education economy in Australia (‘Public policy is class war pursued by […]
22 May
Comments Off on ‘Revolutions arrive too late or too early, but always when they’re not expected’
> Here’s my rough translation of a thoughtful analysis of the Spanish revolt, which was written for the Viento Sur website a few days ago. It locates the movement’s origins not just in the economic crisis and austerity measures of the Zapatero government, but the impasse created by the trade union leaders’ decision to back […]
19 May
Comments Off on A new Spanish Revolution? Tahrir comes to Madrid as crisis of democracy deepens
Dawn breaks in Puerta del Sol In 2006, migration and insecurity were the first and second worries of the population. Today, they are the last ones, and the levels of insecurity about the job situation and the crisis have gone [through] the roof. — Gemma Galdon Clavell, 18 May 2011 How quickly the tide […]
17 May
Comments Off on ‘Capital’ Against Capitalism: Final timetable announced and registration open
> The final timetable for the conference I am organising – ‘Capital’ Against Capitalism – has been announced. The conference website has full details and a secure registration process through PayPal. All welcome – visit capitalagainstcapitalism.blogspot.com to register.
16 May
Comments Off on What’s class got to do with it? Appendix: The strange persistence of egalitarian ideals
> In a piece of excellent timing given last week’s post-Budget pseudo-debate on class, the ACTU has launched a recent report on attitudes economic inequality in Australia that contains some stark facts about wealth (rather than income) distribution as well as some fascinating data on social attitudes. They’ve released this as part of their public […]
14 May
Comments Off on What’s class got to do with it? The debate over $150k families & ‘middle-class welfare’
> Australia’s richest CEOs — not exactly breaking into a sweat right now You may have thought there’d been a debate on class carried out in the mainstream media and more widely since Budget night last Tuesday, but you’d be wrong. Instead we’ve seen a partisan debate where both sides agree on the principles of […]
11 May
Comments Off on How to become part of the political mainstream #47: Learn to dog-whistle
Have the Greens decided to join the chorus of anti-immigrant racism that has bedevilled Australian politics for over a century? It seems so, with Bob Brown using the term “queue jumpers” to describe skilled migrants entering the country. Criticising Julia Gillard’s “Malaysian Solution” to deport asylum seekers, he argued: We know more than 90 per […]
09 May
Comments Off on The balance of forces
> by Dr_Tad and liz_beths Since the NSW election discussion among many readers of Left Flank has been dominated by the battle over Marrickville Council’s BDS policy. The Left inside the party has just had to face down the combined forces of the Murdoch media, Barry O’Farrell, Kevin Rudd, various sections of the pro-Israel lobby, and the party’s own national […]
07 May
Comments Off on The state: Australian capitalism’s long time companion
> In reading Alex Callinicos’s article ‘The Limits of Passive Revolution’ in Capital & Class, I have found myself diverging off in to some reading about the role of the state in capitalist development in Australia. A common view I encounter is that the period prior to the Great Depression was one of a classic […]
24 May
Comments Off on Thin edge of the wedge: Economic nationalism & the skilled migration ‘debate’