The Experience of Middle Australia: The Dark Side of Economic Reform

by Michael Pusey

Overview

Four hundred Australians across the country shared their experiences of work, family, parenting and study for this book, creating a striking picture of Australian society as a new millennium begins. Meticulously researched, the volume presents a counter-argument to the regime of economic reform. Michael Pusey's sequel is as controversial as his best-selling Economic Rationalism in Canberra.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521651219
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	03/27/2003
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

Michael Pusey was educated in England, France, Australia and the United States, where he took his doctorate at Harvard. He is the author of the best-selling Economic Rationalism in Canberra and is presently Honorary Visiting Professor at the University of New South Wales.

Table of Contents

Introduction: economic reform; 1. Incomes and meanings; 2. Jobs work and fairness … In the wake of Labour market reform; 3. Working families: struggling with the costs of reform; 4. Civil societies and communities; 5. Politics, power and institutions; 6. Conclusion.

Editorial Reviews

"If the doctrine that 'markets know best' is an empirical thesis, not merely fundamentalist dogma, then a variety of questions at once arise. The great value of this book is that it poses some of the most important of these: in particular, the crucial question of 'how people experience the economy.' The answers are instructive, in some respects chilling, and should become a central component of public debate on the radical reconstruction of Australian society that has been imposed on the basis of principles that are far from self-justifying." Noam Chomsky

Pusey's provocative and important book is a challenge to contemporary orthodoxies. Society, he warns, will bite back if we choose to build our civilisation solely around the concern of business to operate with as little constraint as possible. He deserves to be read—and heeded." Will Hutton, author, The State We're In and The World We're In

Pusey's provocative and important book is a challenge to contemporary orthodoxies. Society, he warns, will bite back if we choose to build our civilisation solely around the concern of business to operate with as little constraint as possible. He deserves to be read—and heeded." Will Hutton, author, The State We're In and The World We're In

"Ten years ago Michael Pusey's research told us how we were landed with 'market rule' without much chance to vote about it. Now in a fair sample of middle Australia he has found a landslide majority for a fairer, fully employed, less unequal and more sustainable economy than small government has ever given us." Hugh Stretton

"We should applaud Michael Pusey for reminding us that our proper study is not the bottom line but the way we live and relate with each other, and that the quest for constant growth ignores the need for harmony and balance in the finite world that we inhabit." Elizabeth Evatt

"We should applaud Michael Pusey for reminding us that our proper study is not the bottom line but the way we live and relate with each other, and that the quest for constant growth ignores the need for harmony and balance in the finite world that we inhabit." Elizabeth Evatt

"Middle Australia wants other riches than money. It has a lurking suspicion that economic reform involves highway robbery of human values. Michael Pusey and his team have unveiled a fascinating insight into the hidden Middle Earth of Australian thinking." Bob Brown

"Middle Australia wants other riches than money. It has a lurking suspicion that economic reform involves highway robbery of human values. Michael Pusey and his team have unveiled a fascinating insight into the hidden Middle Earth of Australian thinking." Bob Brown

From the Publisher