Latest Blog Posts

  • qe61

    Response to Megalogenis in Quarterly Essay

    I recently had a short piece, co-authored by  Tad Tietze, printed in response to George Megalogenis’ essay ‘Balancing Act: Australia Between Recession and Renewal’. The Megalogenis essay is available in Quarterly Essay Issue 61, and our response in Issue 62. Here is a short excerpt of the response: We believe that no matter how brilliant and balanced a reform program […]

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  • 046336-hawke-and-kelty

    Simultaneously deepening corporatism and advancing neoliberalism

    Audio of my seminar at the University of Sydney, exploring the Accord in the context of neoliberalism in Australia is now online here.

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  • 2016 - Humphrys

    Seminar on the Accord and neoliberalism

    I am speaking at the University of Sydney next week, on ‘Australia under the Accord (1983-1996): Simultaneously Deepening Corporatism and Advancing Neoliberalism’. 5 May 2016, Darlington Centre Boardroom, 4:30pm – 6.00pm.  

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  • Whitlam

    Why didn’t neoliberalism start during the Fraser Government

    Many people associate the beginning of neoliberalism with the election of conservative governments influenced by the New Right and theorists such as Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman. A useful question to ask, then, is why didn’t the vanguard neoliberal period commence during Australia’s conservative Liberal government (1975-1983) led by Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser? One explanation […]

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  • Gramsci

    Travels with Gramsci

    This post was first published at Progress in Political Economy, the blog of the Department of Political Economy at the University of Sydney. Click here for the audio of my talk on Soundcloud. *** Some paths to an event seem particularly labyrinthine, which only adds to the joy once a project reaches an unexpected destination. […]

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  • ClassStructure in Aust'n History 1

    Historical Materialism 2015, Sydney, Call for Papers

    The call for papers for Historical Materialism Australasia, to be held in Sydney on 17 & 18 July 2015, has just been released. Abstracts are due by 15 May. I’m particularly excited as Raewyn Connell and Terry Irving will both be speaking, as part of a series of discussions marking the 35th anniversary of the publication of their seminal […]

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  • Hawke and Keating

    Neoliberalism and the Accord: 3CR podcast

    The 14th Biennial National Labour History Conference, ‘Fighting Against War: Peace Activism in the Twentieth Century’ was held at Queen’s College, University of Melbourne, 11-13 February 2015. My paper on ‘The Accord after Thirty Years: Corporatism in the Neoliberal Era‘ was recorded by the Solidarity Breakfast program on 3CR, who featured excerpts from it as a part […]

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  • Russell-Brand-New-Statesman

    Anti-politics and the illusions of neoliberalism

    We live in anti-political times. After a twentieth century in which Western societies experienced the rise and entrenchment of mass representative institutions, where hundreds of millions of people accepted that politics was the main way to have their social interests advanced, these arrangements have ever more obviously fallen into disrepair, decay and even frank breakdown. […]

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  • HeroicFurylowres

    Call for papers: Gramsci workshop for research students

    I am currently helping to organise a graduate workshop at the University of Sydney, exploring the work of Antonio Gramsci. All research students, whether based in Australia or overseas, are welcome to submit an abstract for a paper. The call for papers follows below. On ‘heroic fury’ and questions of method in Antonio Gramsci FRIDAY […]

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