What do you think?
Rate this book
The Passion of Politics
'Lindy Edwards powerfully shows how politics can be understood as a passionate confrontation of ideas and ideologies. This book gives us a new and compelling way to think about the past, present, and future of Australian politics.' - Professor John Dryzek, Australian National University.
Behind the evening news lies a world of political ideas and passionate conflict. The Passion of Politics unpacks the ideologies and theories which drive these political clashes, helping to explain why we admire some politicians and loathe others.
The ideas driving today's politics all have roots in the political struggles of the past. They've been responses to great injustices and challenges, and they've underpinned enormous achievements. In Australia, they've helped create one of the most wealthy, free and just societies in history.
Today we are faced with important choices between flawed options. The struggles of the past have undermined our belief in utopias. Yet the current battles remain crucial to defining our future. Understanding the dynamics of the ideas in play is essential to equipping ourselves to take part in these vital debates.
Behind the evening news lies a world of political ideas and passionate conflict. The Passion of Politics unpacks the ideologies and theories which drive these political clashes, helping to explain why we admire some politicians and loathe others.
The ideas driving today's politics all have roots in the political struggles of the past. They've been responses to great injustices and challenges, and they've underpinned enormous achievements. In Australia, they've helped create one of the most wealthy, free and just societies in history.
Today we are faced with important choices between flawed options. The struggles of the past have undermined our belief in utopias. Yet the current battles remain crucial to defining our future. Understanding the dynamics of the ideas in play is essential to equipping ourselves to take part in these vital debates.
- GenresPolitics
248 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2012
2 people are currently reading
26 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 1, 2017
Lindy Edwards wrote (mostly) interesting columns for the Melbourne Age some time ago, but she didn't really grab my attention until a recent appearance on the ABC current affairs show The Drum ("Give me the drum" or information, as opposed to beating one), where she was forthright, logical and intelligent.
This book is the result, of a Google after this appearance. It's a combination history and ideological survey of politics in Australia, essentially from Federation to a couple of years ago. My knowledge of this area is pretty good as far as linear history goes and what interested me is "ideology" and "theory" – not exactly common Australian words, on any topic.
Several decades ago, the governing theme was L.F. Crisp's Labor vs anti-Labor, which made a lot of sense, and you can still see and hear renditions of that theme today, with politicians from both sides interminably stating their desire to stop whoever it is from either taking power, or continuing in power, notions that they might actually do something rarely in evidence.
Edwards adds to the linear history by presenting the ideologies of conservatism, classical liberalism, modern liberalism and socialism and how they played out in early national politics, deftly explaining the different kind of social arrangements arrived at here (essentially modern liberalism + socialism), and enabling me to grasp something of all this liberal-conservative stuff from the US in particular, where neither label is attractive to me and how I would like a society to operate.
Knowing the names of the players helps understand how things progressed (time-wise, anyway) over the decades and she confirms what a few commentators have said by stating flatly that Liberal Party founder Robert Menzies (Pig-Iron Bob for those opposed) would not feel comfortable in today's party, with the rise to influence and power of Conservatives under John Howard in the mid-1990s, notwithstanding the routine invocation of his name by people of that perspective (Maybe they don't know what he did or said).
There's some interesting stuff about the rise of neo-liberalism, which Edwards suggests might be a result of the public service recruitment of people trained as economists (rather than generally educated i.e. humanities people) as opposed to any drive from politicians. This makes sense in a number of ways. Edwards compares and contrasts these ideological views at the end and also introduces the newer ground of environmentalism.
The book is written in a clear, dispassionate style – actually the only passion is in the title on the cover, as well as its bright red and yellow colour – and it felt like a decent undergraduate text in both format and structure. So it's not a bundle of laughs, nor any drollery expressed, but there's a time for that and this was an informative, objective read which I found valuable and interesting, albeit disappointing in that we don't seem to have any better ideas at the moment that might get some action and decision-making from our motley uninspiring, largely not overly bright, elected representatives
This book is the result, of a Google after this appearance. It's a combination history and ideological survey of politics in Australia, essentially from Federation to a couple of years ago. My knowledge of this area is pretty good as far as linear history goes and what interested me is "ideology" and "theory" – not exactly common Australian words, on any topic.
Several decades ago, the governing theme was L.F. Crisp's Labor vs anti-Labor, which made a lot of sense, and you can still see and hear renditions of that theme today, with politicians from both sides interminably stating their desire to stop whoever it is from either taking power, or continuing in power, notions that they might actually do something rarely in evidence.
Edwards adds to the linear history by presenting the ideologies of conservatism, classical liberalism, modern liberalism and socialism and how they played out in early national politics, deftly explaining the different kind of social arrangements arrived at here (essentially modern liberalism + socialism), and enabling me to grasp something of all this liberal-conservative stuff from the US in particular, where neither label is attractive to me and how I would like a society to operate.
Knowing the names of the players helps understand how things progressed (time-wise, anyway) over the decades and she confirms what a few commentators have said by stating flatly that Liberal Party founder Robert Menzies (Pig-Iron Bob for those opposed) would not feel comfortable in today's party, with the rise to influence and power of Conservatives under John Howard in the mid-1990s, notwithstanding the routine invocation of his name by people of that perspective (Maybe they don't know what he did or said).
There's some interesting stuff about the rise of neo-liberalism, which Edwards suggests might be a result of the public service recruitment of people trained as economists (rather than generally educated i.e. humanities people) as opposed to any drive from politicians. This makes sense in a number of ways. Edwards compares and contrasts these ideological views at the end and also introduces the newer ground of environmentalism.
The book is written in a clear, dispassionate style – actually the only passion is in the title on the cover, as well as its bright red and yellow colour – and it felt like a decent undergraduate text in both format and structure. So it's not a bundle of laughs, nor any drollery expressed, but there's a time for that and this was an informative, objective read which I found valuable and interesting, albeit disappointing in that we don't seem to have any better ideas at the moment that might get some action and decision-making from our motley uninspiring, largely not overly bright, elected representatives
January 29, 2013
The key takeaway I had from this book was the realisation that the standard Labor (liberal) / Liberal (conservative) dichotomy that we accept in modern Australian politics is something of a fallacy. Both parties have a mix of liberal, conservative, and socialistic policies (and yes, I know, I should have realised that much earlier, my mind's been on other things, don't you judge me) dictated by society's attitudes to the individual issues.
Edwards presents first a brief history of Australian politics from pre-federation to the present day. She particularly focuses on our development as the great social-democratic experiment around the time of federation, with the establishment of voting rights for women, minimum wages, and the eight-hour day. She also provides an explanatory context for the White Australia policy, giving an idea of the thought processes that allowed Australians at the time to argue that an anti-egalitarian policy was somehow the opposite (in short, that the "scientific racism" of the time claimed as fact that some races were destined to form underclasses, and if they were allowed into Australia then they would live in isolationist ghettoes and work for less, thus allowing employers to undermine the minimum wage laws and thereby wreck the egalitarian experiment. It's a logically consistent attitude, if one takes to be true the initial premise.)
The other excellent contribution that Edwards makes is to explain the core principles of conservatism, liberalism, and socialism (and their neo- extensions) clearly and fairly, presenting their arguments and those against without favour or partiality. Each of the social frameworks - while it has its flaws, presented with a moments thought - has an argument behind it that is presented as worthy of consideration.
Content aside, what about the delivery? For a fairly dry subject, Edwards' style is easy to read; all ideas are logically presented, chapters are largely standalone, and her delivery is engaging. Highly recommended for the informal student of history and politics.
Edwards presents first a brief history of Australian politics from pre-federation to the present day. She particularly focuses on our development as the great social-democratic experiment around the time of federation, with the establishment of voting rights for women, minimum wages, and the eight-hour day. She also provides an explanatory context for the White Australia policy, giving an idea of the thought processes that allowed Australians at the time to argue that an anti-egalitarian policy was somehow the opposite (in short, that the "scientific racism" of the time claimed as fact that some races were destined to form underclasses, and if they were allowed into Australia then they would live in isolationist ghettoes and work for less, thus allowing employers to undermine the minimum wage laws and thereby wreck the egalitarian experiment. It's a logically consistent attitude, if one takes to be true the initial premise.)
The other excellent contribution that Edwards makes is to explain the core principles of conservatism, liberalism, and socialism (and their neo- extensions) clearly and fairly, presenting their arguments and those against without favour or partiality. Each of the social frameworks - while it has its flaws, presented with a moments thought - has an argument behind it that is presented as worthy of consideration.
Content aside, what about the delivery? For a fairly dry subject, Edwards' style is easy to read; all ideas are logically presented, chapters are largely standalone, and her delivery is engaging. Highly recommended for the informal student of history and politics.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews