Labor's Conflict: Big Business, Workers and the Politics of Class

by Tom Bramble, Rick Kuhn

Once widely regarded as the workers greatest hope for a better world, the ALP today would rather project itself as a responsible manager of Australian capitalism. Labor's Conflict provides an insightful account of the transformations in the Party's policies, performance and structures since its formation. Seasoned political analysts, Tom Bramble and Rick Kuhn offer an incisive appraisal of the Party's successes and failures, betrayals and electoral triumphs in terms of its competing ties with bosses and workers. The early chapters outline diverse approaches to understanding the nature of the Party and then assess the ALP's evolution in response to major social upheavals and events, from the strikes of the 1890s, through two World Wars, the Great Depression, and the post-war boom. The records of the Whitlam, Hawke, Keating, Rudd and Gillard governments are then dissected in detail. The compelling conclusion offers alternatives to the Australian Labor Party, for those interested in progressive change.

Genres: Politics

236 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

the ALP has been committed to running the system of capitalism from its inception to the present day. The Labor party didn’t start off radical and became more and more right wing as people often think. From day one the commitment to the system is clear. The much lauded left wing moments in the party’s history were the result of pressure from working class struggle. The ALP is particularly responsive to its working class base due to its connection to the unions. When workers struggle, it puts pressure on the party to move left, talk radical, etc to retain support from its base. For example Jack Lang and the socialisation units came into being under pressure from workers struggle, it’s a similar story with Whitlam’s left talk and program of reforms. Rather than transform the party into a force that could win socialism, the ALP channeled worker’s radicalism back into the system to divert it from becoming a real challenge to capitalism. It’s one of its most valuable qualities as a party for the ruling class.

Although the labor party seems very obviously right wing and crap today, the history shows the party is very capable of adapting to changes in politics. This is why how the far left relates to the ALP will never not be a key question for revolutionaries in Australia.

[Reece Gittins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good big picture analysis of the function of the ALP as capitalist workers party and its shift towards the professional class, increasing insulation from working class and role in stifling militant unionism.

Ideological blinkers sometimes prevent fair minded analysis of things such as concessions extracted by Gillard government from the Greens - ie. The carbon tax and Rudd's ETS are crudely lumped together as just market based emissions schemes which may be technically true but in terms of real world impact they had vastly different effects - or middle class appetite for reform during the Whitlam era. Also glossed over some huge contemporary policy changes from Labor that should have been explored ie the NDIS

[Benson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The overshadowing of populist politics of Europe and the US on the media pages of Australia, and no doubt the world, have of course changed the scope, critical faculty as well as the perception of party politics, economic choices (and consequences), both domestically and abroad.

For an understanding of one of Australia's biggest parties (well one of two), this book is a nice concise history of it's founding roots, the connections, strengths and weaknesses of trade unions support both inside and outside of the party.
Though Australian politics may be lacking the big arena that US and UK politics have , the domestic, economic and often ideological decisions undertaken by the three contenders (Greens, Labor and the Coalition), especially the subject (Labor) of the book, have come to show how the continual adaptations and shedding have produced a party that is rich in history and contradiction.
All this is outlined in ten chapters:
1: Labor's love's lost?
2:In the beginning: Labor's first quarter century
3:Between the wars
4:Hot war, cold war, split
5:Labor after 70 years
6:The Whitlam era
7:Economic rationalism under Hawke and Keating
8:Labor in the wilderness
9:The Rudd-Gillard government
10:The Labor Party today: what's left?

Throughout the ten chapters, there is a consistent quality by the authors, staying on topic and never once getting dry with the content. Though I felt by the end of the book, that due to its publication in 2011 (to no fault of the authors), a revised and expanded edition on the Labor party and its connections into the 2020's,will definitely be needed, as well as an accompanying study on the Liberal coalition and Greens is required. A point I will make for this is due to the last few pages in chapter 10, and its breakdown of the uneasy and uncertain nature of the traditional social democratic parties and their inevitable adoption of pro-market and public reducing programs.
The quality is lent via the lens of Socialist/Marxist perspective, perhaps similar to the Essay series "Essays in the Political Economy of Australian Capitalism", perhaps not as in depth, but nonetheless, concise enough for the emphasis of the need to uncover the changes of the ALP and its policies towards its core base as well as its attitudes towards that of the Trade unions and its appeal to the blue collar/working class of this nation.

Why did I give this 5 stars? Well, it is concise nature, but precise in flow, allows for the book to stay on course, and not for one moment allowing it to bog down in dryness. Offering criticism, appraisal and solution, it is definitely worth the read if you're wanting to learn more or understand the Labor party, without Murdoch smudge or voodoo.

[Maxy.kai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice little history but didn't tell me too much i didn't know before.