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Politics

The Cost of Trump’s Victory

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Progressivism has to take some of the blame and will have to deeply reconsider its project if we are to counter the forces of Trumpism.

Chameleon Clinton the ‘Saviour of Children’

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In today’s race for the White House, falsehoods and deceptions are no longer marginal to political debate but rather shape much of what is said by US presidential candidates. This is shockingly true for Trump, who has organised much of his campaign around endless fabrications, sending fact-checkers into a frenzy of activity. On the other hand, Hillary Clinton has earned a reputation as a chameleon, willing to say almost anything to promote her political career. In response, Clinton has managed her truth deficit by invoking her lifelong defence of families and children. Unfortunately, Clinton only focuses on managing some of the problems that young people face, rather than doing anything to change the conditions that produce them.

Brexit and After

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While many commentators have expressed relief that the financial dust has settled after the decision of UK voters to withdraw from the EU, there is reason to think they relax too soon. Certainly in terms of immediate effects the political shockwaves in the UK are catastrophic and any ‘solution’ for either of the main parties is likely to have a medium (and probably longer) term unraveling effect. On the one hand there is a basic loss of trust within each party, and on the other the implicit perspective that held together general political strategy — a shared sense of positive development, of what is a desirable future — has been punctured. The two orientations reinforce each other.

Bumbling Boris the Confidence Trickster?

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Where EU leaders have got it wrong is that Brexit is less a crisis for Britain (though it is that), than the latest manifestation of a deep-seated European malady. A sense of the risk of the EU unravelling is alive in the air in Germany and France because the fear is that Brexit has launched a dangerous dynamic of EU disintegration that, if uncontrolled, may, like Brexit itself, prove unstoppable. Perhaps this is something of which David Cameron, but also Boris “Opt-Out” Johnson, are painfully aware.

Malcolm Turnbull and the Australian Nation

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What Australia currently lacks is a political party or movement that could bring about a renewal of our nation that is based upon the people whose everyday realities are grounded here. At this stage, such a development needs writers, thinkers, activists and publications to tell the story.

Auditing Indigenous Poverty

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A major challenge all political parties face is that Indigenous poverty is deeply embedded and structural and will take a long time, innovative policy and major investments to address. The diversity of Indigenous circumstances means that a diversity of approaches will be required, but the major parties are committed to mainstreaming or normalisation options. It is only the Greens that are serious about the recognition of difference and the need for approaches that emphasise social justice.