Issue No 34 | 08 October 1999 | |
ReviewTemper DemocraticBy Neal Towart
Humphrey McQueen has been a fearless critic of received opinions across a range of subjects for many years, and as a consequence has been criticised or more often ignored in debates in Australia.
He generally receives a serve from the likes of Robert Manne and Peter Craven (by name and nature) for daring to remain committed to the idea of a democratic socialism. This collection of essays is a bit of a mixed bag, mainly because it is such a disparate collection of articles drawn from material previously published in 24 Hours magazine and the late Independent Monthly. That said, the articles should generate debate as McQueen applies his acuteness to questions of poverty, Australian exceptionalism and democracy, the future of the ABC, why you shouldn't read newspapers or watch television, the multinational toy industry, animal rights, multiculturalism and more. The essays are organised into broad sections; the first: Power From the People contains discussion of the nature of democracy and the exceptionalism of Australia's democratic achievement. He emphasises the long Australian commitment to liberal democratic ideal, workers rights, votes for women, contrasting this with European countries, our supposed models, where as recently as the early 1980s a military coup was attempted. However the last chapter of the section gives the reader a guide to the enemies of this democratic ideal. The idea of popular sovereignty pervades all the essays. The small l liberals resent that the populace is not content to be guided by experts. Thus they equate the notion of populism with the politics of One Nation, rather than as essential "activity by the people to secure social justice. Populism in the sense of direct participation remains essential to extend popular sovereignty to all areas of life, to work and to leisure". Brecht has commented on the Difficulties of Governing that these "experts" face: It's only because they are all so stupid That a few are needed who are so clever. Or could it be that Governing is so difficult only Because swindling and exploitation take some learning? Section Two examines the poverty largely generated by those who have followed in the path of the enemies of democracy. An appreciation of Tom Fitzgerald, a "humane face of economics", shows McQueen's generosity to someone who did not share his Marxism but who was an unprententious democratic public citizen. That Fitzgerald's only good view of the public sector came from his time working with Nugget Coombs exemplifies the temper democratic that McQueen searches for in his hope for an exceptional Australia. Part three deals with cultural issues, but not in the current vein where anything goes and has equal legitimacy. McQueen does not waver from his Marxist analysis and provides stimulating discussion of advertising, toy marketing, the ABC, and the Net (his attitude to the Net is neatly summed up in the index with a cross reference from the "internet" to "junk") and the future of the Australian film industry in an increasingly deregulated (ie regulated by Hollywood's demands) market. The response of Pasolini in the infamous Salo to the commodification of everything is the summing up of this section. Refusal to consume is necessary if we are to avoid the barbarity Pasolini highlights. McQueen is interesting on science with good discussion of the so called gay gene and the current manifestation of Social Darwinism, namely genetic determinism, and the rights of other animals. Section five looks squarely at cultural issues, again not accepting things as they are sold to us, but applying sharp political economic and cultural analysis. The Right in the form of Boyer lecturer Pierre Ryckmans and the fascist movements of the twenties get a thorough going over via a discussion of D H Lawrence's Kangaroo. Political Correctness and multiculturalism are also discussed from unexpected angles (given the shallowness of these debates from right wing commentators and PoMo cultural theorists). The concluding essay on Barbarisms and Civilisations questions the distinction of the two, given that these civilisations were built by workers, but celebrations of them ignore the labour and cheer the barbarous rulers. Again Brecht has been here: Who built Thebes of the seven gates? In the books you will find the names of kings. Did the kings haul up the lumps of rock? McQueen has written elsewhere that he approaches the world with Marx's view that "the history of all hitherto existing societies is the history of class struggle". The response to that as we face the ever spreading hand of monopolising capital (the latest word for it is globalisation) is the apparently simple call of Theodore Adorno that "there is tenderness only in the coarsest demand: that no one shall go hungry any more." That apparently simple cry would require the most dramatic changes imaginable in the global order. (Humphrey McQueen: Temper Democratic: How exceptional is Australia? Wakefield Press 1998)
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Interview: A Crack to the Skull Rail, Tram and Bus Union state secretary Nick Lewocki took on the Carr Government�s radical rail refrom agenda and walked away a winner. He looks back on the week the trains stood still. Economics: Green Backs and Dirty Dollars Paul Ehlrich says the real culprit behind the environmental crisis isn't so much the huge numbers of people in the world or conspicuous over-consumption in the West but an economic system that confuses price with cost. Unions: Tally Ho! A landmark meat industry decision might not have the impact the reith cheer-squad hopes for. History: The Western Express West Australian historians are undertaking a project to chronicle that state's rich rail history. Republic: The Referendum: A Spot of Reading John Passant looks a the propaganda passing as information in the lead-up to the referendum. Indigenous: Australia Snubs Nose at the UN The United Nations General Assembly will be told that Australia has breached an international convention on racial discrimination that Malcolm Fraser�s Government ratified 24 years ago. International: Desert Flashpoint The United Nations has confirmed that demonstrations were suppressed in Western Sahara last month. Review: Temper Democratic Humphrey McQueen has been a fearless critic of received opinions across a range of subjects for many years, and as a consequence has been criticised or more often ignored in debates in Australia. Satire: Tax Cuts Come in the Nick of Time for Struggling Packers Welfare groups have called upon on the Federal Government to bring forward the date of proposed capital gains tax cuts. Labour Review: What's New in the Information Centre Read the latest issue of Labour Review, a resource for union officials and students.
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