Are We Serious About Changing Direction In Australia?
Understanding the economic backdrop behind Australia's controversial political protests, with insights from David Fox.
Since World War Two (World Anti-Fascist War), in Australia as we know it today, Anglo-American Finance’s dictates the nation’s domestic and foreign policy through Washington, London, and Wall Street. With its tentacles reaching into every aspect of Australian society, it has come blatantly obvious to some people that something needs to be urgently done.
Australia's economy is currently in a precarious state, as it is no longer able to rely on a manufacturing capacity, energy sovereignty, or a public bank as its cornerstone for financial support. Rather, it is heavily reliant on a service sector, agriculture, mining, and real estate speculation, which has driven the prices of homes so high that homeownership is now unattainable for the majority of the population. This situation has impeded the nation's ability to develop and rebuild a strong domestic economy that benefits all Australians.
Along with a population that is unaware of the power and influence that Anglo-American Finance has over ordinary working people by using culture wars, immigration, national security, and even COVID-19, just to name a few. Apart from not achieving any real significant reforms and changes to the benefit of all, the status quo is maintained by keeping the people divided on secondary issues.
With the backdrop of a failing economy, one would think the people would learn from history, by putting their differences aside, by coming together for a common cause. So why isn’t this the case?
Well, let’s start by asking, Are We Serious About Changing Direction In Australia?
This country has such a rich history of ordinary working people coming together to create change. Examples of this include:
Resistance against brutal British colonial rule by Aboriginal people and early convicts (much of them Irish Rebels, Chartists, other Political Prisoners and French-Canadians).
The gold fields rebellions against an unjust tax on all the people, culminating in the Eureka Stockade at Ballarat, which led firstly to male suffrage and other democratic reforms.
The Great Strikes of the 1890s waged by unions against a major onslaught by government and employers to decrease wages, which eventually resulted in the basic wage.
The anti-conscription struggles of World War One.
The fight against the results of the harsh economic conditions and fascism of the 1930s and 40s, through to the Vietnam Moratorium of the early 1970s.
These are just some examples as there are many more, but the key to all these struggles is the Working People were front and centre.
In order to move forward and change direction in Australia, this is the primary lesson to study and learn from to be successful. If we are serious about change, ordinary working people cannot afford to be distracted by secondary issues such as culture wars, which are pushed and led by groups funded by big money sources. This results in the continuation of Finance Capital's grip on power. Instead, we must unite and lead around an economic vision and fighting program to break the power of Washington, London, and Wall Street.
Working people can do this firstly by organising in their communities, sporting and recreational clubs, volunteer emergency services, army reserve, other community associations, independent media, and unions just to name a few. They can also do this by discussing a vision for Australia, which would for example include a people's bank.
This is the first step for ordinary working people to gain the political and economic power necessary to change our direction onto a pathway the Nation needs. So we can strive forward, plan and rebuild for our current and future generations. It will be tough at times, with setbacks and other hurdles to overcome, but if the working people stand solid and keep focused, they will be able to achieve this goal.
We hope that this article has been helpful in providing references that will encourage you to begin your own journey of understanding. The discussion contained in our articles often reflects our own author conclusions, based on the many years of observation and research. However, we understand that many of you have your own piece of the puzzle to add to our collective understanding. So, we encourage you to participate in this discussion. Are our conclusions correct or incorrect? Should we provide more writing on some simplified references in this article? Please add your respectful and constructive comments below. Also, if you have any articles of your own to submit to The Great Southern Club, we welcome your perspective on issues facing Australia, Pacific Island nations, Timor-Leste, and Indonesia.
