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Showing papers in "Thesis Eleven in 1986"




Journal ArticleDOI

15 citations



Journal ArticleDOI

13 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The three major positions on corporatism that have so far emerged are represented by the Thesis Eleven editors (Beilharz, Triado, Watts), the "Swedophiles" (Dow, Boreham, Clegg, Higgins) and Stewart and Ballard from the A.N.U. contributorS4 see the Accord as undemocratic, although for quite different reasons.
Abstract: The support of media and business interests makes the left suspicious of Hawke’s Labor government and its corporatist institutions and rhetoric.’ Certainly events of the last three years have provoked much academic debate. The three major positions on corporatism that have so far emerged are represented by the Thesis Eleven editors (Beilharz, Triado, Watts), the ’Swedophiles’ (Dow, Boreham, Clegg, Higgins) and Stewart and Ballard from the A.N.U. However, while the editors of Thesis Eleven and the Swedophiles have battled over whether the Accord is or is not potentially socialist, it is their divergent views of socialism and reformist strategy within a capitalist society that have produced the key points of contention. To some extent, the different concerns of the participants derive from their disciplinary backgrounds. Thus Beilharz2, Triadol and also the A.N.U. contributorS4 see the Accord as undemocratic, although for quite different reasons. Democracy is a key concept in the discipline of politics. Against this, the Swedophiles’ focus on what we might call the ’economic necessity’ of achieving a healthy economy oriented toward redistributive goals as a precondition for any successful redistribution of power. Thus the Swedophiles are, I believe, both more attuned to the necessary relationships between polity and economy. Further, they argue that tentralised decision-making is both necessary to overcome the normal booms and slumps of a capitalist economy6 and that this does not necessarily reduce autonomy and self-management at more local levels. 7

12 citations



Book ChapterDOI
TL;DR: In the aftermath of the Great Depression, and particularly in the period of postwar reconstruction, a consensus emerged committed to policies of full employment as discussed by the authors, which was to be achieved on the basis of steady economic growth, which was also to provide for a rising standard of living and a gradually increasing amount of leisure time.
Abstract: Issues of work and leisure are topical at the moment. We are living in a period of long-term, mass unemployment in much of the Western world. In Britain and some other parts of Europe it is approaching the scale of the 1930s.2 In the aftermath of the Great Depression, and particularly in the period of postwar reconstruction, a consensus emerged committed to policies of full employment. This was to be achieved on the basis of steady economic growth, which was also to provide for a rising standard of living and a gradually increasing amount of leisure time.

11 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In the 1970s, the Whitlam Government came to power and the left in Australia seemed generally to be of the opinion that it was less a new beginning for socialism than for technocratic labourism as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: What is the future of socialism in Australia today? It can have very little future at all if we are not prepared to argue about it. These reflections are offered in this spirit, and in the spirit of an ongoing commitment to Marx’s eleventh thesis: we cannot claim to change a situation which we have not yet understood. The anniversary of the Kerr coup and the publication of Whitlam’s memoirs have helped highlight the divergence of the Hawke Government from the Whittam project. But socialists, heads down, digging their gardens or working in the apparatus, have barely attempted to make sense of this recent history.’ In 1972 the Whitlam Government came to power. White formally rejoicing the end of the Liberal iceage, the left in Australia seemed generally to be of the opinion that it was less a new beginning for socialism than for technocratic labourism. Bob Catley and Bruce McFarlane epitomised this view in their From Tweedleduni to Tweedledee; it was a view widely on the revolutionary left. The proposal that this government had been installed by economic cir-

11 citations



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: To the best of our knowledge, the authors is the only work that addresses the question of "how to define the constitution of the subject in terms of forms of power and knowledge peculiar to Western modernity".
Abstract: to subject-centred histories of the emergence of a universal Reason in the West define the constitution of the subject in terms of forms of power and knowledge peculiar to Western modernity? The exploration of various dimensions of this question, rather than a definitive response, is the terrain of this paper. Foucault’s genealogical analyses of power are liable to an imminent critique of his own theoretically radical statements of method. Crucial aspects of these analyses remain caught within the discursive order they seek to displace. The reliance of his own theoretical intelligibility on establishing the identity of the modern West leads Foucault to reproduce much of the meta-historical framework he takes pains to avoid. Consequently, his general perspective on the purposes of history and the specific aims of the ’analytic of power’ are severely compromised. Moreover, this disjunction between methodological ambitions and realised historical account is not merely an occasional slip. This can be illustrated by Foucault’s use of teleological and totalising modes of argu-

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors compare Habermas' and Arendt's concepts of communicative action and find some interesting similarities between these two writers' concepts of action, but also some intriguing differences.
Abstract: a theory of communicative action, and, elsewhere, he has called one of Arendt’s major works, The Human Condition, &dquo;an anthropology of communicative action There are, indeed, interesting similarities between Habermas’ and Arendt’s concepts of action though, as we will see, also some intriguing differences. The comparison of these two writers should, however, not remain limited to these concepts. They have both indicated general trends in the development of modern society and there are some remarkable parallels in their observations on this point. Habermas’ account of the &dquo;colonization of the Lifeworld&dquo; by the &dquo;System&dquo;, and E~rendt’s analysis of the increasing predominance of the &dquo;social realm ’ &dquo;

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The degradation of practical reason to mere instrumental control is a diagnosis which we encounter in the writings of Hannah Arendt and Jurgen Habermas, with Hans-Georg Gadamer and Michael Oakeshott, with a number of the outstanding representatives of the so-called 6hu~~nist&dquo; Marxism, but also with Alasdair Macintyre, to name only a few.
Abstract: Aristotle is undergoing a veritable renaissance in contemporary practical and political philosophy. The conceptual dichotomy of poiesis and praxis, of making and doing, with the associated distinction between techne and phronesis, technical skill and practical reason, occupies a prominent place amongst those peripatetic ideas which contemporary philosophical thought frequently resuscitates as especially relevant to our present sitution. This long neglected division of human activities into these two fundamental types brings into focus so it is argued the fundamental malaise of our social existence: the atrophy of praxis as action proper, the transformation of all intentional human activity into some mode of making, into technically effective modes of behaviour. The degradation of practical reason to mere instrumental control is a diagnosis which we encounter in the writings of Hannah Arendt and Jurgen Habermas, with Hans-Georg Gadamer and Michael Oakeshott, with a number of the outstanding representatives of the so-called ~6hu~~nist&dquo; Marxism, but also with Alasdair Macintyre, to name only a few. This diagnosis has already become a cultural commonplace which shapes our understanding of the perplexities and tasks we face.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The status of Marxist theory and practice today is, as perhaps always, a live issue as mentioned in this paper, and the new, broader, issues of industrial modernization, participatory democracy, national and regional identity, and the &dquo;new social movements present a novel series of questions about the integrity of Marxism.
Abstract: The status of Marxist theory and practice today is, as perhaps always, a live issue. If problematics in and about Marxism are perennial, the new, broader, issues of industrial modernization, participatory democracy, national and regional identity, and the &dquo;new social movements&dquo; present a novel series of questions about the integrity of Marxist theory and practice. That the theoretical and practical foundations of Marxism are today in serious question is indicated by the fact that socialists hold conferences on the &dquo;crisis&dquo; of Marxi,5m; during the 1930s the left inevitably held conferences on the &dquo;crisis&dquo; in capitalism. While this development is characteristic of Western-style industrial nations in general, the most striking case has been the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). Indeed, a theoretical topography of this development can be drawn crisply in the context of contemporary developments on the left in the FRG.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Origins of Totalitarianism as mentioned in this paper is a chronicle of Jewish emancipation, and that of the unfolding of political power in the United States during the early 20th century, with the first quarter of the book devoted to a painstakingly detailed chronicle.
Abstract: When The Origins of Totalitarianism’ was published, in an atmosphere of general acclaim critics failed to observe the truly astonishing structure of the work. Instead of commencing her analysis with the usual sweeping generalisations, Arendt consumed the first quarter of the book with a painstakingly detailed chronicle of Jewish emancipation, and that of the unfolding of political ~.r~tls~ 3tls~ a~ anut~~~. And yet, this idiosyncratic structure allows a deep insight into her most profound intentions. The story of totalitarianism starts with the story o/’~e’pan~, and th~ref®r ~ ~ith th~ ~ 6~~c~ptl~r~99, ~alth they ‘p®lltl~~lly ~~®r~al~~,~s~ ~ ~hl~h herefo e w the &dquo;exce ion&dquo;, wit the &dquo;politica anomalous&dquo; w ic is then used to explain the rest of society, rather than the other way round. In this book elsewhere in ~rerldt§s work, the extension of the concept bsp~r~~h99 covers the Jew as the paradigmatic case, further the colonial native, the endless millions of °6st~t~l~ss persons&dquo; who provide a better clue for understanding the true nature of the nation state than the latter’s solemn declarations of citizen rights, the slaves of the pre-Civil War period and their socially unemancipated progenies of the post-Civil War period in the United States. Arendt even argued that had the lunacies of certain Allied politicians with regard to a defeated Germany

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate the content of Max Weber's concept of capitalist society and highlight the apparent convergence of Weber's conceptualisation and of Marx, further to argue that behind this apparent agreement lie subtle but significant divergences which result in disparate analyses prognoses.
Abstract: This enquiry first of all to assemble from sources the content of Max ~~b~~°’s concept of capitalist society; secondly to highlight the apparent convergence of Weber’s conceptualisation and of Marx, further to argue that behind this apparent agreement lie subtle but significant divergences which result in disparate analyses prognoses. The most compact statement of Weber’s concept of capitalism is to be found in Part Four of £?eneral Economic ~d,~t~~°,yo While it has the conventional point of departure for this comparison, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of C~pzt~di~~a is far too concerned with the development of the mentality ~~~t,~t~ of capitalism and the ideal interest which brought this about, to give any serious consideration to the institutional contours of capitalism. The only systematic discussion of the latter occurs in the General ~’~~d~a~~~~ ~d,st~~°~3 but this text alone is not enough to access to Weber’s understanding of &dquo;capitalism&dquo;. This term must be interpreted in the context of the remaining fragments of Max Weber’s intellectual endeavours to specify the nature and likely development of &dquo;capitalism&dquo;. However, let us begin with the General Econorfiic jMs~ofy. In that work we find the same generic conception of capitalism as the pursuit of acquisitive ends, that Weber used at the beginning of the ~’~°~t~,~t~~t Ethic and ~e Spirit ~~°~’~~gt~d~~~a But Weber declares that while capitalistic enterprise is found in all periods of historyA whole epoch can be designated as typically capitalistic only as the provision for wants is capitalistically organised to such a predomi-

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, Pimlott, Radice, Beatrice and Sidney Webb discuss the Fabian Socialists and their relationship with the Labour Party and the economics of Democratic Socialism.
Abstract: L. Radice, Beatrice and Sidney Webb. Fabian Socialists ~~~ondon: Macmillan, 1984); B. Pimlott (editor) Fabian Essays in Socialist Thought (London: Heinemman, 1984); E. Durbin, New Jerusalems: The Labour Party and the Economics of Democratic Socialism (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1985); G. Foote, The Labour Party’s Political Thought. A History (London: Croom Helm, 1985); A. Przeworski, Capitalism and Social Democracy (Cambridge: University Press, 1985); G. Esping-Andersen, Politics Markets. The Social Democratic Road to Power (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1985); B.S. Turner, Citizenship and Capitalism. The Debate Over Reformism (London: Allen and Unwin, 1986).





Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: One of the key concepts of the universalist thought that has been produced by the West in the modern world is that of the (and/or an) &dquo; industrial revolution as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: One of the key concepts of the universalist thought that has been produced by the West in the modern world is that of the (and/or an) &dquo;industrial revolution.&dquo; I wish to raise some questions about the utility of this concept and its social function both for social science and for social ideology. First of all, what is it supposed to mean? L7.C. Coleman has pointed out that the phrase covers three quite separate meanings. It means first any sort of innovation which leads to the increased mechanization of one or several branches of production. It is in this sense that we can speak for example about the European industrial revolution of the thirteenth century. It means secondly the so-called first &dquo;real’’ industrial revolution, that of Great Britain, which is usually dated as occurring more or less between 1760 and 1830. In this sense, some authors suggest it represents a fundamental world social transformation comparable to the Neolithic


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The present decade is marked in feminist theory by a spectacular resurrection of the concept of difference which is being used not only as an analytical tool, but also as a central strategic concept for the subversion of the realities of inequality in social position of women.
Abstract: The present decade is marked in feminist theory by a spectacular resurrection of the concept of ’difference’ which is being used not only as an analytical tool, but also as a central strategic concept for the subversion of the realities of inequality in social position of women. What makes this development new is, above all, the reformulation of the understanding of ’difference’ itself. This new understanding rejects the formulation of difference as a simplistic dichotomous opposition in which one term is defined by the other (or rather by its ’lack’ or its lesser degree) a tradition going back to the Aristotelian characterisation of the female that is a female &dquo;by virtue of certain lack of qualities&dquo; and which, therefore, subordinates the ’other’ term to the ’first’ one. Instead, the difference has been now formulated as having a meaning and a content of its own, that is, as a ’positive’ difference. The inspiration for this theoretical turn has come from diverse sources and concrete disciplines, and in the majority of cases has not been explicitly derived from the ’deconstructionist’ trend, although the impact of this latter could not be denied. The concrete formulation of this new approach to ’difference’ includes a

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Metcalfand Humphries as mentioned in this paper argue that if masculinity is lived ambiguously and somewhat anxiously, its cultural and political codes and representations are markedly more narrow, repressive and unforgiving of ambiguity.
Abstract: not only of anxiety but also of variation within men’s own identification and experience of their sexuality. But if masculinity is lived ambiguously and somewhat anxiously, its cultural and political codes and representations are markedly more narrow, repressive and unforgiving of ambiguity. Metcalfand Humphries’ collec.tion is devoted to different aspects of this dangerous contradiction, and particularly to the political refractions of a tenuous sexuality which is most often characterised by aggressive-defensive posturing. The point is wonderfully well illus1rated in the cover photograph of Clint Eastwood ― modern capitalism’s preemptive avenger of social ills, and a cinematic role model of disturbing popularity. He stands rigid in a dusty street, tightly bound with rope, past and future violence inscribed in his posture and his face a very model of hard resolution. The book illustrates not only how the infantile absurdity of the image masks emotional crippling, but how this restricted construction of gender has been harnassed to work for political ends. It is linked to monetarist policies which eschew compassion and command competitiveness, and its most obviously employment is in militaristic imagery where war is a paean to manhood, and potential species annihiliation just one of the occupational risks of aggressive-defensive posturing. The arguments put here begin to go beyond the often more individualistically defined parameters of homosexual work on sexuality; the collection attempts in particular to link more fully the experience of heterosexual masculinity to the social power structures of patriarchy. Yet perhaps the collection’s relative novelty also partly explains its most unsatisfactory feature the uneven and often under-

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Chilla Bulbeck's contribution to the debate over the Accord is to be welcomed as mentioned in this paper, and it is a significant case, and a useful register of the record on redistribution, industry development and ’democratisation' strategies under the Accord.
Abstract: Chilla Bulbeck’s contribution to the debate over the Accord is to be welcomed. It is a significant case, and a useful register of the record on redistribution, industry development and ’democratisation’ strategies under the Accord. What I find difficult about Chilla’s case is less the case itself, than its presuppositions and its potential effects. The argument is constructed as though there were some authentic and privileged position outside interpretation, as though our critic alone were exempt from the music of interpretation, placed somewhere beyond restricting ’counterf actuals’; possessing rather some ’realist’ methodological laser which can slice through the obscurantist imputations of sundry earlier debaters. By this account (or is it an interpretation?), it would seem to be the case that while our Accordians hear in the Accord the lilting strains of the Internationale, we, associated with Thesis Eleven, apparently hear the more sombre tones of ’Advance Australia Fair’ or perhaps ’Drinking Rum and Coca Cola’; but our critic hears nothing, and can therefore read the record authentically, in order to show