The deeply political policy of Reserve Bank independence

And how it undermines Labor's ability to govern

Not so long ago, one of the key catch cries of the progressive left was that we live in a society not an economy. It was, I believe, a response to Margaret Thatcher’s famous quote about there being no such thing as society. More generally, it addressed the instigation, under neoliberalism, of policies that prioritised economic growth and market forces over social welfare and community well-being.

It was a good catch cry.

“…so they are casting their problems on society and who is society? There is no such thing! There are individual men and women and there are families and no government can do anything except through people and people look to themselves first.”

I was thinking about this as I watched various members of the progressive left attack the Greens this week for daring to suggest that the government—you know, the elected government of the Australian people—should override the will of the Reserve Bank and drop interest rates as a way of helping those struggling with mortgages and o…