I think it is true that today the working class is divided - and so-called 'wedge politics' play their part here. With a Labor Party that no longer feels comfortable approaching its politics from a class perspective, many working people feel alienated, and gravitate towards the Liberals' exploitation of popular fears and insecurities. I do not think, though, that this 'proves' the futility or invalidity of class politics. In fact, this situation is partly the product of a Labor Party that is not willing to appeal directly to working people on the basis of their class interests.

re: 'Affluenza' - post-materialist politics are getting quite a foothold on the Left these days - but as Kim Carr reminds us in his article - appearing on the same day as this article - housing has never been so inaffordable as now. This is compounded by the rise of insecure work, and the casualisation of the workforce. Not that some flexibility isn't a good thing - but it is to be bemoaned that many workers have to work several casual jobs to survive - and have trouble meeting rent let alone affording their own home. Many Australians still live in poverty - and many others will have trouble providing for their own retirement at a time when the prevalence of superannuation may marginalise the public pension system, with pensions being driven down.

more to come..........

re: Westernred'scomments-'Community banks' generally do not provide the same standard of service - and citizens everywhere should enjoy services of equal quality. A strong public sector strengthens the hand of democratically accountable government - and hence of the public in general. Expansion of the public sector - and of the co-operative sector - can be seen as a remedy to exploitation. Apart from intellectual fashion, there is no reason to suppose that economic democracy must take shape in the co-operative sector alone - to the exclusion of the public sector. Health care, aged care and education, in particular, should not be run for profit - these services should be provided as a universal right, with the resultant redistribution of opportunity and basic quality of life that comes with a strong social wage. Sometimes,as is the case with communications infrastructure,duplication is foolhardy and wasteful - and development will not occur it the private sector unless it is made suitably profitable. Government Business Enterprises also hold the hope of enhancing competition - especially where such enteprises run on the basis of a public charter, rather than on a corporatised basis.

re: Corin's comments -

I see no problem with the hand of a central, yet democratically accountable (through the ballot box and through the public sphere) government, having a fair degree of economic power - as opposed to the power of hulking transnational corporations - who have no intention of 'devolving power'. As against the trend today, I believe in a democratic mixed economy. But this means that there are many options - of which government ownership is one important option of many.

If Corin wants to 'devolve' economic power - then why not support wage earner funds - established on a regional basis and controlled by communities in partnership with unions - to invest in both profitable enterprises, and in projects of social benefit to the communities concerned? Combined with co-operativism, establishment of works councils and a strong public sector, this would promise a broad democratisation of the economy.

Tristan,
It is easy to see you still, like I hold to the pricipiles of the 20th century, Logic and Common sense, however many other posters have moved on to U.S. controlled logic, which is illogical.

Sometimes you just have to stick to your guns when you know you are correct. We will see on the 30th of the month whether or not the working class have been screwed egough to revolt, the irony here it that you and I may actually have better assetts and bank blances using our 20th century philosophies than the people who are argueing with us, and ultimately against them selves, it's a crazy world, and there is no improvement in sight, I have no trouble whatsoever with "Democratic Socialism" and neither do other parts of the world.

The problem in this country is that "the world" is viewed by in an ever increasing U.S.A. way, which has almost taken all Australians used to hold dear, kindness, compassion for your fellow Australian etc, in favor of a new Fairlane or a BMW, greed corrupts humans, to the point where looking at the globe through the most recent State of the U.S.A.the working class have been brainwashed into believing that they no longer exist. Reality will arrive soon, and it will arrive too late for workers to reverse this malay if they are not careful, those of you mwho know what and who you are, see you on the 30th at hopefully the largest rally this country has ever seen.

Tristan, except the electorate wants more control over its own lives and its families. I do support devolving power to regions. But ultimately policies like differential school vouchers will gain the upper hand as people say - why can't I have more control (my family over where my kid goes) - the differential sum giving a larger sum to the vulnerable to invest.

Also primaries are far more democratic than rank and file balloting. Mixed primaries may provide the best mix of interests. I take it that Gillard and Jones are simply displeased with the outcome of factional power - they are not in my view true democrats promoting democratic reform. Only a far wider base and far wider involvement (wider than membership) will do that.

Jones just wants to shuffle the deck in his favour! he is simply being dishonest about his reasons - souching it pary interest.

If the ALP followed Jones (and Tristan) and rank and file only - it would become like the Labour party in Britain in the early 80's. If we replace current preselection - it must be with something more representative of the wider community.

I said this recently at Club Troppo:

" Indeed I think the idea of ‘membership’ is a factor in the decline of peoples willingness to become involved in politics. ‘Middle’ ground people want a say in the direction of the ALP - they don’t want to devote their soul to the ALP.

I’d also suggest that Labor Unity will eventually embrace mixed primaries as a mechanism to stop the rampant Left from controlling the ALP - yet at the same time promoting democratic ‘engagement’: give it 10 years you’ll see. i.e. if you give up the current pre-selection system, you have to replace it with something that sees the ALP become more engaged and still embracing the centre-ground: In short the kind of Barry Jones garbage about engaging with the rank and file would see the ALP walk off a cliff of unelectability in much the same way as Labour in Britain did in the early 1980’s. "

Within deteriorating Western culture, Australian society and the ALP, the dominance of the "Right", genuinely reactionary and opportunist with no "consciousness/conscience" now dominates.
The scavenging mentality is so tailor-made for conditions within that historically-emerged shell of a nation Australia is; post colonising AUSFTA and thus for the ALP Right.
No "vision thing", just a half-world of gangsterism, "deals" and scrapping over the crumbs. Nothing of compassion, creativity and cooperation, just an expediency and parasitism that feeds off deteriorating education and other social infrastructures; the ABC, SBS, CSIRO, environment, heritage etc. No challenge is made to the dominant neo-liberal ideology that goes with this nation's downfall.
Few glimpse beyond habitual conflict, consumerist dummy-sucking, commodity fetishism, ego tripping, control freaking and emotional self indulgence. But reification works through precisely that resulting alienation and frustration that actualises our modern "aspirational" cargo-cult. Neo liberalism not only destroyed Howard and Costello as men and blinded Latham and the Roosters. It now apparently decays the likes of Emerson, Tanner and Gillard, who now uphold and promote what they might have once challenged.
From that point, neo liberalism, there is no barrier to fascist nihilism and self replication.
Being bereft of any higher consciousness, the "Little Howards"- the Lennons, Tripodis and other careerists will never allow control of the ALP to devolve back to the community. It is in their unself- reflexive conditioning to cling to power, existing as living manifestations of what passes for the modern community.
Truth and compassion, as "political correctness", are sanctioned out of the discursive currency, as a sort of shame, by it. The dominant characteristics of narcissism, self absorption, victimhood and entitlement, just won't tolerate the outward. Australians will now only realise what they have lost AFTER they have lost it, like the people of classical Athens or Rome who also lost their civilisations through complacency.
THEN, too late, the significance of both the ALP Right and ten years of Howardism, will finally be understood.