We have lived for some time in a conversation of dichotomies. Right and Left, individual and collective, good and bad, our god and the “others” god, agency and structure. We have also created categories to assist with analysis e.g. micro, meso and macro, culture (ideal, symbolic, superstructure) and material (empirical, base). These artificial separations have been challenged at lest sinch the sixties and seventies (and some would argue the prior century, too) because they don’t reflect the reality of how our lives unfold.
We are both constrained by structure and agentic, individual and communal. Life does not stabilise; it is continually in flux. Culture does not exist on a plane separated from the material saying and doing of day-to-day life. Neoliberalism, as a set of ideas, therefore, doesn’t *impose* although proponents do argue for (with every resource they can muster) a way to see the world and act in it. This fact is equally applicable to all political participants.
The linguistic and cultural turns where turbulent, provocative, and combative and not only did they not normalise individualism, but they also exacerbated many of the long-standing dichotomies including mind and body, individual and society. These impactful periods of tumult have since given way new forms of social analysis. These new forms shy away from dichotomies, bracketing out domains in search for “the” most important elements, and centring on the role of individuals. Marx called this ‘praxis’, others ‘practice’.
South Australia’s One Nation ‘event’ isn’t an event – it’s a moment in a continuity of Australian life. Nor is it a cunning ‘script’ or a ‘performative’ success. Analysing the moments of voting over the weekend’s SA election as symbolic misses so very much, not least the preceding decades of change in practice that established the ground that constituted the moments of pundit fixation.
I don’t know if the party form is finished but I do know that the tools for social analysis have moved on since the turn of the century. It’s been my experience that, in letting go some of the science ‘games’ of old, these new and evolving approaches get sociologists closer to helpful understandings of the social.
I was surprised in the last federal election that community independents didn't make more of a dent in Labor seats. I expect, if Albanese continues to govern the way he has been, that they will be ripe for the picking at the next election. At least that is my hope: the same frustrations that educated voters in Coalition seats were experiencing in 2022 are starting to become apparent in Labor seats, especially inner-city ones. The Greens had the opportunity after the Brisbane floods four years ago and the 2022 election a couple of months later to cement their position as the 'progressive Labor alternative' but, for whatever reason, they failed. Perhaps voters were giving Albanese an extension of his mandate in 2025, but I don't think - unless they show an improvement - that that mandate will extend to the next election. That 'hung parliament' everyone was talking about in 2025 may finally eventuate. I certainly hope so.
"Advance" made it its primary purpose to DESTROY THE GREENS last federal election, targeting specific seats with misinformation funded by the Liberal Party and other wealthy right wing sources. THe Greens vote did not decrease overall; there were other factors involved, such as redistribution of seats etc. The major problem for the Greens as I see it is their limited funding. I'm not sure, but I think that Albo just consolidated that inequality with the new electoral funding legislation, allowing the major parties - oops! Who are they now????? the Libs? the Nats? the Coalition? One Nation? The Greens??? a $90 million cap that is denied Independents - and I think Greens. The Greens punch above their weight, but they need more resources. WHen you are not on the side of the mining companies, it is not so easy to get big "donations"/ie bribes!
I partly agree with you Marianne. But I was also surprised that the Greens didn't seem to campaign against the Israeli genocide in Gaza. Everyone knew, sort-of, what the Greens position was and they certainly copped relentless abuse from the legacy media, Labor, the Libs and the Zionists. Yet they never seemed to fight back. I handed out cards for them in Wills (which they hoped to win) and their how-to-vote cards didn't even mention Palestine. I thought, you're the one party in parliament who opposes this crime but you won't even say so! I think this might have cost them.
"Voters are actually looking for a politics of inclusion and basic decency, " Sadly, I think this is off the mark. The very word "inclusion" would raise the hackles of the Murdoch commetariat. The same is true of the substantive policies it implies
A lot of voters are looking for someone to blame, and the most common scapegoats are people who don't look like them. Until now, the LNP has mostly held on to those voters with dog whistles, while implementing neoliberal economic policies. And for quite a while, they kept One Nation outside the cordon sanitaire/Overton window. But that couldn't be sustained and One Nation was legitimised once they got LNP preferences ahead of Labor. Throw in a chaotic Liberal mess at both state and national level and you get the result we just saw.
THe big question, raised by Alex Fein's article is what the Greens should do about it. My answer is exactly the opposite of hers. The Greens need to break with Labor decisively and present themselves as a left opposition rather than attempting to nudge Labor into more progressive policies.
Another excellent piece of analysis and understanding Tim. A great read. I'm just wondering how or why Hanson fails to see that the premise she accepts "that everyone is an isolated, self‑interested unit" is the core reason why people are consequently "disrespected and displaced". It goes with the political economy of neoliberalism. The internal inconsistencies in her political aesthetic are glaring.
Albanese seems to be totally and irretrievably wedded to the neoliberal aesthetic. He must be completely devoid of self-awareness or any political intelligence to continuously fail to see that it is this neoliberal spectre that is haunting us all and that we ache to be rid of - even if that means turning to ON.
'In fact, it indicates that the party form itself may no longer be a useful way of organising political action.'
You write this with great prescience, insight and vision on the day the ABC posts it's nostalgic paen to the good old days of the 2party system:
'Disillusioned voters drive One Nation surge as most Australians feel ignored by politicians
Exclusive by chief digital political correspondent Clare Armstrong' with highlighted grabs
'Major parties face 'mutual destruction' without change; In short:
New research shows Australians do not believe the political system is keeping pace with the threat posed by misinformation, undue influence and political self-interest.' More than half of people say they do not feel represented or heard by their politicians.
Contrast that with Monique Ryan who posts on bsky:
What's next?
Advocates say truth in political advertising, lobbying and foreign interference restrictions can help restore trust in Australia's democracy.
Australians are losing trust in government. They know that the major parties make decisions in their own best interests rather than those of the people they represent. They want lobbying reform and for us to close the revolving door between government and industry.
Come on ABC; I'm not ready to give up on you just yet. Come on ABC management throw this back at the 'government', pay the journos & staff what they deserve and stop running cover for the duopoly nostalgia.
In short:
A majority of ABC journalists and staff have voted against the broadcaster's latest pay offer, which included a 3.5 per cent pay rise. Sixty per cent of staff voted "No", leaving the tally 395 votes short of the required majority. What's next?
The vote's result has triggered a protected 24-hour strike, beginning at 11am on Wednesday.
Fundamentally, the needs of the People are not being met - in fact, our wellbeing is being seriously damaged in 'systems' that are being manipulated for the benefit of vested interests - not the People. The so-called Representatives in Parliaments across this great land are failing us dismally - to satisfy the GREED of those vested interests. People see they are suffering. They are lashing out with their votes - that's why the One Nation bs.
We must have systems that support the People. We must have Representatives that deliver FOR THE PEOPLE. Accountability is crucial.
I shared it to my Queensland Greens Facebook group, managing to start with this following quote:
"Australians will argue passionately for radically progressive policies, but they want those policies explained in calm, moderate language. They reject what they perceive as activist posturing with a visceral intensity because they see it as divisive. And what they crave is community connection and a sense that they and their neighbours can just get along.
The Greens have thus occupied the worst of both worlds. On one hand, they engage in incrementalist policy skirmishes (rent caps are a good example) that fail to cut through because they are not a transformative vision of true structural change.
On the other hand, the Greens deploy activist language that has our participants characterising them as extreme. A raised fist or presence at demonstrations signals something that most people recoil from, particularly in such chaotic times. That is when people tell us that they retreat to the ‘safety’ of Labor even as Labor invariably disappoints them."
This annoyed a few people, but others were in agreement, even if reluctantly. One of the things _we_ can and _should_ do is improve our aesthetics, because it sounds like there's a lot of room for improvement.
"And what they crave is community connection and a sense that they and their neighbours can just get along." Further to this point, my daughter works for the Victorian Socialists, and has done a lot of door-knocking. And much of that in high immigration areas. She's found a rich vein of engagement - and a sense that she often speaks to people who just did not know that a political representative could listen to them, And act. And the last campaign the Socialists ran in western suburbs down here resulted in a doubling of their vote - election to election. No other party went anywhere near this level of vote increase. This point was totally overlooked in MSM reporting. Surprise! But yes - people crave community. And once they are happy and secure, they'll be far less inclined to support grifting showboats like the vile PHON et al.
Yet Labor continues to talk about 'The Greens Political Party' in extreme terms, as if they are grievance activists, with nothing in common with their brethren on the Left. No doubt that is all part of Albanese hot 'centrist' fantasy.
Excellent. The fact that a large majority now hate “normal” politicians and “normal” politics is indisputable, decades of dissembling and betrayal of the public good in servitude to vested interests has had that effect. This is why “abnormal” politicians like Trump or Hanson can get a footing. But while I agree completely with this essay, particularly about the culture of neoliberalism, there is a further step that extends far beyond the effects of our parochial party system.
I can’t account for why Walter Benjamin’s famous essay “The Work of Art in the Age of Its Mechanical Reproduction” has always loomed so large in the art world yet never seems to be mentioned in political discussions. Benjamin considered the aestheticisation of politics to be logical because he viewed fascism as an attempt to mobilise the public in such a way that it could express a desire for a different kind of society, with “changed property relations,” while leaving those relations intact. His central thesis was that the logical outcome of fascism’s aestheticisation of political life was inevitably war. It’s a thesis that seems to currently be reaching fruition.
I would be really glad if someone from government or elsewhere explained to the AUstralian population WHY we have migrants! It is not out of kindness or indulgence! It is economically essential! With our birthrate what it is and our "growth economy", we cannot afford NOT to have migrants! It is so easy to peddle the politics of division; about time Labor educated the public, especially those Pauline Hanson is drawing to her!!!
Very well-said Tim. Yes, Labor can be pleased with their win. But 38% is what Gough got in 1977 and it meant Labor got walloped, again. It's a long, long way short of a vote of confidence.
Thanks Tim. Great article once more. Particularly in combination with Alex Fein’s piece, which had lots of room for thought. I note you didn’t try and summarise the aesthetics of the Greens. 😊 Alex’s piece has us as angry activists and posits this as a problem. However, to my eye, the bigger problem is that the element of the Greens that is collaborative and consultative and concerned about the welfare of everybody is the part that isn’t seen by most voters. In other words, how much is the aesthetic determined by mainstream media and social media? Conflict is clickbait and bringing people together is seen as boring.
We have lived for some time in a conversation of dichotomies. Right and Left, individual and collective, good and bad, our god and the “others” god, agency and structure. We have also created categories to assist with analysis e.g. micro, meso and macro, culture (ideal, symbolic, superstructure) and material (empirical, base). These artificial separations have been challenged at lest sinch the sixties and seventies (and some would argue the prior century, too) because they don’t reflect the reality of how our lives unfold.
We are both constrained by structure and agentic, individual and communal. Life does not stabilise; it is continually in flux. Culture does not exist on a plane separated from the material saying and doing of day-to-day life. Neoliberalism, as a set of ideas, therefore, doesn’t *impose* although proponents do argue for (with every resource they can muster) a way to see the world and act in it. This fact is equally applicable to all political participants.
The linguistic and cultural turns where turbulent, provocative, and combative and not only did they not normalise individualism, but they also exacerbated many of the long-standing dichotomies including mind and body, individual and society. These impactful periods of tumult have since given way new forms of social analysis. These new forms shy away from dichotomies, bracketing out domains in search for “the” most important elements, and centring on the role of individuals. Marx called this ‘praxis’, others ‘practice’.
South Australia’s One Nation ‘event’ isn’t an event – it’s a moment in a continuity of Australian life. Nor is it a cunning ‘script’ or a ‘performative’ success. Analysing the moments of voting over the weekend’s SA election as symbolic misses so very much, not least the preceding decades of change in practice that established the ground that constituted the moments of pundit fixation.
I don’t know if the party form is finished but I do know that the tools for social analysis have moved on since the turn of the century. It’s been my experience that, in letting go some of the science ‘games’ of old, these new and evolving approaches get sociologists closer to helpful understandings of the social.
I was surprised in the last federal election that community independents didn't make more of a dent in Labor seats. I expect, if Albanese continues to govern the way he has been, that they will be ripe for the picking at the next election. At least that is my hope: the same frustrations that educated voters in Coalition seats were experiencing in 2022 are starting to become apparent in Labor seats, especially inner-city ones. The Greens had the opportunity after the Brisbane floods four years ago and the 2022 election a couple of months later to cement their position as the 'progressive Labor alternative' but, for whatever reason, they failed. Perhaps voters were giving Albanese an extension of his mandate in 2025, but I don't think - unless they show an improvement - that that mandate will extend to the next election. That 'hung parliament' everyone was talking about in 2025 may finally eventuate. I certainly hope so.
"Advance" made it its primary purpose to DESTROY THE GREENS last federal election, targeting specific seats with misinformation funded by the Liberal Party and other wealthy right wing sources. THe Greens vote did not decrease overall; there were other factors involved, such as redistribution of seats etc. The major problem for the Greens as I see it is their limited funding. I'm not sure, but I think that Albo just consolidated that inequality with the new electoral funding legislation, allowing the major parties - oops! Who are they now????? the Libs? the Nats? the Coalition? One Nation? The Greens??? a $90 million cap that is denied Independents - and I think Greens. The Greens punch above their weight, but they need more resources. WHen you are not on the side of the mining companies, it is not so easy to get big "donations"/ie bribes!
I partly agree with you Marianne. But I was also surprised that the Greens didn't seem to campaign against the Israeli genocide in Gaza. Everyone knew, sort-of, what the Greens position was and they certainly copped relentless abuse from the legacy media, Labor, the Libs and the Zionists. Yet they never seemed to fight back. I handed out cards for them in Wills (which they hoped to win) and their how-to-vote cards didn't even mention Palestine. I thought, you're the one party in parliament who opposes this crime but you won't even say so! I think this might have cost them.
"Voters are actually looking for a politics of inclusion and basic decency, " Sadly, I think this is off the mark. The very word "inclusion" would raise the hackles of the Murdoch commetariat. The same is true of the substantive policies it implies
A lot of voters are looking for someone to blame, and the most common scapegoats are people who don't look like them. Until now, the LNP has mostly held on to those voters with dog whistles, while implementing neoliberal economic policies. And for quite a while, they kept One Nation outside the cordon sanitaire/Overton window. But that couldn't be sustained and One Nation was legitimised once they got LNP preferences ahead of Labor. Throw in a chaotic Liberal mess at both state and national level and you get the result we just saw.
THe big question, raised by Alex Fein's article is what the Greens should do about it. My answer is exactly the opposite of hers. The Greens need to break with Labor decisively and present themselves as a left opposition rather than attempting to nudge Labor into more progressive policies.
I only just remembered that "inclusion" is the I in DEI. Safe to say that Libs aren't keen on it
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jan/31/peter-dutton-push-to-axe-dei-public-service-positions-compared-to-donald-trump
Another excellent piece of analysis and understanding Tim. A great read. I'm just wondering how or why Hanson fails to see that the premise she accepts "that everyone is an isolated, self‑interested unit" is the core reason why people are consequently "disrespected and displaced". It goes with the political economy of neoliberalism. The internal inconsistencies in her political aesthetic are glaring.
Albanese seems to be totally and irretrievably wedded to the neoliberal aesthetic. He must be completely devoid of self-awareness or any political intelligence to continuously fail to see that it is this neoliberal spectre that is haunting us all and that we ache to be rid of - even if that means turning to ON.
It's almost like Albanese saw what happened to Nicolas Maduro and thought 'I could be next!'
🤣🤣🤣
Nailed it Andrew. He is indeed "completely devoid of self-awareness or any political intelligence..." Exhibit one, his beach house.
TD - OMG another absolute blinder of an article.
'In fact, it indicates that the party form itself may no longer be a useful way of organising political action.'
You write this with great prescience, insight and vision on the day the ABC posts it's nostalgic paen to the good old days of the 2party system:
'Disillusioned voters drive One Nation surge as most Australians feel ignored by politicians
Exclusive by chief digital political correspondent Clare Armstrong' with highlighted grabs
'Major parties face 'mutual destruction' without change; In short:
New research shows Australians do not believe the political system is keeping pace with the threat posed by misinformation, undue influence and political self-interest.' More than half of people say they do not feel represented or heard by their politicians.
Contrast that with Monique Ryan who posts on bsky:
What's next?
Advocates say truth in political advertising, lobbying and foreign interference restrictions can help restore trust in Australia's democracy.
Dr Monique Ryan
@mon4kooyong.bsky.social· 3h
Australians are losing trust in government. They know that the major parties make decisions in their own best interests rather than those of the people they represent. They want lobbying reform and for us to close the revolving door between government and industry.
Come on ABC; I'm not ready to give up on you just yet. Come on ABC management throw this back at the 'government', pay the journos & staff what they deserve and stop running cover for the duopoly nostalgia.
In short:
A majority of ABC journalists and staff have voted against the broadcaster's latest pay offer, which included a 3.5 per cent pay rise. Sixty per cent of staff voted "No", leaving the tally 395 votes short of the required majority. What's next?
The vote's result has triggered a protected 24-hour strike, beginning at 11am on Wednesday.
A big thanks go to you TD.
cheers
Fundamentally, the needs of the People are not being met - in fact, our wellbeing is being seriously damaged in 'systems' that are being manipulated for the benefit of vested interests - not the People. The so-called Representatives in Parliaments across this great land are failing us dismally - to satisfy the GREED of those vested interests. People see they are suffering. They are lashing out with their votes - that's why the One Nation bs.
We must have systems that support the People. We must have Representatives that deliver FOR THE PEOPLE. Accountability is crucial.
Another one of yours knocked out of the oval for 6, Tim.
I also recommend Alex Fein's piece as well, but did you actually link to it? I think you didn't. Here it is.
https://redbridgeintel.substack.com/p/polarisation-is-a-myth
I shared it to my Queensland Greens Facebook group, managing to start with this following quote:
"Australians will argue passionately for radically progressive policies, but they want those policies explained in calm, moderate language. They reject what they perceive as activist posturing with a visceral intensity because they see it as divisive. And what they crave is community connection and a sense that they and their neighbours can just get along.
The Greens have thus occupied the worst of both worlds. On one hand, they engage in incrementalist policy skirmishes (rent caps are a good example) that fail to cut through because they are not a transformative vision of true structural change.
On the other hand, the Greens deploy activist language that has our participants characterising them as extreme. A raised fist or presence at demonstrations signals something that most people recoil from, particularly in such chaotic times. That is when people tell us that they retreat to the ‘safety’ of Labor even as Labor invariably disappoints them."
This annoyed a few people, but others were in agreement, even if reluctantly. One of the things _we_ can and _should_ do is improve our aesthetics, because it sounds like there's a lot of room for improvement.
"And what they crave is community connection and a sense that they and their neighbours can just get along." Further to this point, my daughter works for the Victorian Socialists, and has done a lot of door-knocking. And much of that in high immigration areas. She's found a rich vein of engagement - and a sense that she often speaks to people who just did not know that a political representative could listen to them, And act. And the last campaign the Socialists ran in western suburbs down here resulted in a doubling of their vote - election to election. No other party went anywhere near this level of vote increase. This point was totally overlooked in MSM reporting. Surprise! But yes - people crave community. And once they are happy and secure, they'll be far less inclined to support grifting showboats like the vile PHON et al.
Yet Labor continues to talk about 'The Greens Political Party' in extreme terms, as if they are grievance activists, with nothing in common with their brethren on the Left. No doubt that is all part of Albanese hot 'centrist' fantasy.
I find myself dropping almost anything to read them when your articles are puiblished. Excellent - and very engaging - analysis Tim.
Same here. Great work Tim.
Excellent. The fact that a large majority now hate “normal” politicians and “normal” politics is indisputable, decades of dissembling and betrayal of the public good in servitude to vested interests has had that effect. This is why “abnormal” politicians like Trump or Hanson can get a footing. But while I agree completely with this essay, particularly about the culture of neoliberalism, there is a further step that extends far beyond the effects of our parochial party system.
I can’t account for why Walter Benjamin’s famous essay “The Work of Art in the Age of Its Mechanical Reproduction” has always loomed so large in the art world yet never seems to be mentioned in political discussions. Benjamin considered the aestheticisation of politics to be logical because he viewed fascism as an attempt to mobilise the public in such a way that it could express a desire for a different kind of society, with “changed property relations,” while leaving those relations intact. His central thesis was that the logical outcome of fascism’s aestheticisation of political life was inevitably war. It’s a thesis that seems to currently be reaching fruition.
I would be really glad if someone from government or elsewhere explained to the AUstralian population WHY we have migrants! It is not out of kindness or indulgence! It is economically essential! With our birthrate what it is and our "growth economy", we cannot afford NOT to have migrants! It is so easy to peddle the politics of division; about time Labor educated the public, especially those Pauline Hanson is drawing to her!!!
Very well-said Tim. Yes, Labor can be pleased with their win. But 38% is what Gough got in 1977 and it meant Labor got walloped, again. It's a long, long way short of a vote of confidence.
Thanks Tim. Great article once more. Particularly in combination with Alex Fein’s piece, which had lots of room for thought. I note you didn’t try and summarise the aesthetics of the Greens. 😊 Alex’s piece has us as angry activists and posits this as a problem. However, to my eye, the bigger problem is that the element of the Greens that is collaborative and consultative and concerned about the welfare of everybody is the part that isn’t seen by most voters. In other words, how much is the aesthetic determined by mainstream media and social media? Conflict is clickbait and bringing people together is seen as boring.