The Incredible Shrinking State

Introduction -

    The relative success of neo-conservative politics in recent years leads to the impression that this is the emergent agenda in all developed states, and that this will lead to an incredible shrinking state by which one means a smaller, weaker state. Because the most visible aspect of this program has been the attack on welfare and the state provisioning of social services, this leads to the modest burlesque of the title: will there be social services when the state goes out of business?  Whatever the final answer, the neo-conservative political agenda has been successful to date, in my view, because of three factors. One, by almost anyone's standards, state support of welfare programs does not produce all the results one desires. These programs produce many obvious negatives; they have become more expensive over time; and their recipients, the poor, are easily stigmatised.

Wall Street Fallacies

Introduction -

    One can think of many areas where false or distorted beliefs play huge roles in justifying power, in perpetuating injustice, and in rendering ordinary people incapable of acting to bring about change. Racial theories and gender stereotypes come quickly to mind. less noticed are beliefs about the dynamics of economic systems.

Dead Reckoning in a Sea of Complexity

Introduction -

    To safely navigate treacherous waters, you have to know where you're going, which in turn requires knowing where you are. Positional referents (celestial bodies, and more recently, satellites) are guideposts, and the conscientious navigator takes every opportunity to establish a reliable fix. But sometimes, skies are cloudy, technology unavailable, or the navigator indisposed, and the ship must depend on dead reckoning, using course and speed to advance an estimate of location from the last reliable position.

Labor, Religion and Sovreignity

Introduction -

   In his article "The Capitalist Threat," George Soros argues that a truly open society is now endangered by laissez-faire ideology. Laissez-faire ideology, he points out, is a closed system which precludes developing imperfect, yet perfectible institutions.  Institutions, which can stabilise markets and correct inequities created by markets, ensure world peace.  Soros sounds eerily prescient since his article was written well before the meltdown of those East Asian economies which laissez-faire ideologues pointed to as examples of what completely free markets could accomplish in the way of growth and stability.

Mapping Trends and Tensions in Global Governance

Introduction -

   To succeed, the concern with global governance for human security must be both tough and tender minded. As Antonio Gramsci recognised, the dual prerequisites for this are pessimism of the intellect and optimism of the will.  Any such project must begin with a realistic analysis of the challenges we face and the opportunities that may pass us by if we do not seize upon them. The following seven megatrends are all characterised by inner tensions that could lead to cooperative security or competitive insecurity in international relations. Each megatrend opens up a different arena for negotiation on issues of human security and governance.  Each trend also suggest a major power shift potentially leading to fundamental changes in the world as we have known it.  Overall, the moves are from concentrations to localism, from patriarchy to gender equality, and from environmental and spiritual carelessness to caring.

Political Economy: Past, Present & Future

Introduction -

    The current upheaval in political economy at the University of Sydney cannot be understood without some
knowledge of the history of economic thought. This used to be a compulsory subject in my early days, and I took part in teaching it. Now very few students take it, so here I shall attempt to remedy the deficiency.

The Social Policy of the ALP: Past, present & Future

Introduction -

    Since the ALP's federal election defeat of March, 1996, there has been no shortage of commentators wishing to define the essence of the Labor years. The purpose of much of this analysis has been not only to offer a particular ideological critique or defence of the Hawke/Keating years, but also to attempt to influence Labor's present and future policy direction.

The Assault on Public Education

Introduction -

    In Australia since the election of a Coalition Government in 1996, there has been a marked shift to the Right in educational policy with a concerted effort to promote choice and markets.

Education and Economic Policy

Introduction -

    Public education is under attack. Successive federal education ministers, Amanda Vanstone and David Kemp, have been 'white-anting' the state school system by fuelling fears about poor literacy standards and a higher incidence of unemployment among state school-leavers. Further flight from the system by those whose parents can afford the alternative of private schooling is a predictable response. Meanwhile, government funding for tertiary education is being slashed, forcing universities to look elsewhere for sources of finance for teaching and research. The education system is being pushed further down the road to privatisation.