Scott Harlum
In Changing Track: A new political economic direction for Australia, Frank Stilwell explores the possibilities of an alternative political economic future for Australia. In his, somewhat utopian vision of the future, Stilwell sees Australia rejecting the processes of globalisation, neo-liberalism and corporate managerialism, which he blames for insecurity, inequality and alienation within the Australian community (2000:8), in favour of a system built on strategies of "nurturing, building and sharing" (2000:8) and in which "economics as if people and nature matter", that is, in which economic policy more directly serves human and environmental needs, (2000:7) is the basis of political economic organisation.
Stilwell sees globalisation as the most fundamental of the processes shaping current political economic thinking in Australia, and takes to task those who see the process as inevitable, "unavoidable, necessary and desirable" (2000:27). Globalisation accentuates the inequalities, "between capital and labour, between economy and environment, and between the private power of corporations and the democratic institutions within nation states" (2000:39), inherent in a capitalist system.
Of neo-liberalism, or, as it is otherwise known "economic rationalism", Stilwell contends that it is not rational at all (2000:40), but rather is a vehicle for furthering the class interests of the ‘new right’ (2000:41). Neo-liberalism, according to Stilwell, "ignores the lessons of economic history" (2000:41) and ultimately, through its rejection of the institutional requirements needed for improving economic performance, has failed Australia generally – unemployment continues to be problematic, the balance of payments continues to run into deficit, and income distribution is increasingly inequitable (2000:52).
Corporate-managerialism – characterised by ‘downsizing’, and ‘out-sourcing’ – denies the essential humanity of labour, treating labour as a factor of production (2000:54-55). This, according to Stilwell, ultimately serves only to instill fear and insecurity in the labour force, and to reinforce the capitalist class agenda (2000:62).
Frank Stilwell is a self-confessed "radical reformist" (2000:viii) with a clear, and at times explicit, penchant for socialist ideologies. He contends, in rejecting the ideologies of the ‘new right’, that his principles of "nurturing, building and sharing" would lead to a more cooperative society which "is conducive to a sense of well-being and tends to generate high morale as well as improvements in productivity" (2000:10).
The nurturing of human resources is central, in Stilwell’s view, to improved productivity. He argues that, rather than being costs to be minimised by government in the pursuit of balanced and surplus budgets, childcare, health, education and workforce training should be emphasised (2000:8).
Using the term ‘building’, Stilwell emphasises the role of government in strategic planning and in infrastructure development. This he says is "a prerequisite for economic and social development" (2000:9).
Sharing the workload, and the rewards of work, is the third element of Stilwell’s alternative political economic organisation. Stilwell argues that it is irrational that, on the one hand, some members of society are denied leisure because of their long working hours, while on the other hand, others are denied leisure because of their lack of work and resources (2000:9).
Stilwell dedicates much of Changing Track to the questions of who and how – who is best placed to bring about radical political economic reform, and how is that reform to be achieved.
On the question of who, Stilwell places little faith in the current Australian Labor Party, which he blames, in part, for having "paved the way for a more explicitly ‘new right’ government" (2000:6). Rather he places his faith in what he calls a ‘Fourth Way’ political and social movement (2000:125) which "blend[s] elements of anarchism and socialism, emphasis[es] decentralisation, cooperatives, mutualism and the extension of democratic principles into economic institutions" (2000:125). The players in this ‘Fourth Way" are not specifically identified, but Stilwell points to "diverse currents" (2000:162) flowing against the mainstream of Australian politics as the source. These ‘diverse currents’ include, for example, indigenous activists (2000:160); "the peace movement and groups focusing on the politics of gender and sexual preference" (2000:163); non-government organisations, such as the Australian Council of Social Service (2000:156); the Australian Council of Trade Unions (2000:156); local and regional collectives; and, grass roots community activists (2000:159).
In examining how, Stilwell points to the current disaffection with the major political parties as presenting significant opportunities for the development of new networks, coalitions and alliances (2000:175) to progress political economic alternatives.
While Stilwell’s critique of globalisation, neo-liberalism and corporate managerialism as processes reinforcing class relationships in persuasive, it is my view that he fails to adequately address the impact of these same relationships on his process of "nurturing, building and sharing". Stilwell is not proposing replacement of the market as a political economic process, in fact he is keen to emphasise an ongoing role for market mechanisms in, inter alia, the production and planning processes (2000:128). As Kuhn and O’Lincoln point out, the existence of the basic classes of capital and labour "springs from the fundamental nature of capitalist relations of production" (1996:2). Class then is alive and well in Stilwell’s utopia. Where, though, is the incentive for the capital class to be involved in "nurturing, building and sharing"? ‘Nurturing’ incurs production costs and costs to government; ‘building’ increases government expenditure and therefore taxation, it also diverts capital from production for the generation of profit; and ‘sharing’ implies a redistributive system of taxation.
Stilwell’s solutions to the questions of ‘who’ and ‘how’ are also, in my view, problematic.
In determining ‘who’ he draws on groups from a wide range of interests and issues. Although these groups may have a shared commitment to general socialist principles (2000:175) they represent a diverse range of agendas. Drawn together as a social group at a party perhaps yes, but drawn together in coalition to form a productive force in Australian politics, perhaps not so easily. Stilwell recognises this difficulty himself (2000:174-178), but does not see these difficulties as fatal to the ‘Fourth Way’.
In answering the ‘how’ question Stilwell does not consider the parallel development of forces of fascism, racism and nationalism, which may, by developing their own support and power derail the ‘socialist’ forces forming the ‘Fourth Way’.
The limits of this review have precluded an examination of some of the other major themes of Stilwell’s work in Changing Track. For example, the regionalisation of government to better serve the needs of both urban and rural communities; more prominent consideration of issues of sustainability throughout political economic organisation; and, the reconsideration of measures of economic and social development and prosperity. Also precluded has been an examination of Stilwell’s specific policy proposals.
Frank Stilwell presents Changing Track as neither a shopping list of reforms, nor as a blueprint for reform (2000:295). What he does do is present the work with a view to it shaping future reform by generating debate and discussion of alternatives to the current prevailing orthodoxies. Only re-examination of the work, against the shape of a future Australian society and political economy, will determine the extent to which he achieved this goal.
As a child of the 1970’s, whose consciousness of the political economy of Australia is dominated by the ‘recession we had to have’, by the restructuring of the Australian economy to meet the challenges of globalisation, and by the dominance of economic issues generally, I find change, to the extent envisaged by Stilwell, difficult to imagine. As Stilwell himself points out though, "one inexorable lesson from the study of political economy is that change, for better or worse, will inevitably occur" (2000:19).
Bibliography
Kuhn, Rick and O’Lincoln, Tom (eds.), (1996) Class and Class Conflict in Australia, Longman, Melbourne.
Stilwell, Frank, (2000) Changing Track: A new political economic direction for Australia, Pluto Press Australia Limited, Annandale.