First Abolish the Customer: 202 Arguments Against Economic Rationalism

by Bob Ellis

Ellis attacks the case made for "economic rationalism".

Genres: Nonfiction

222 pages, Paperback

First published October 31, 1998

About the author

Robert James "Bob" Ellis (10 May 1942 – 3 April 2016[1]) was an Australian writer, journalist, filmmaker and political commentator. He was a student at the University of Sydney at the same time as other notable Australians including Clive James, Germaine Greer, Les Murray, John Bell, Ken Horler and Mungo McCallum. He lived in Sydney with the author and screenwriter Anne Brooksbank; they had three children.

Plays

The Legend of King O'Malley (1970) with Michael Boddy
Big Brother Dragon (1971) with Michael Boddy
Duke of Edinburgh Assassinated or The Vindication of Henry Parkes (1971) with Dick Hall
The Francis James Dossier (1973) – later The James Dossier (1975) – musical about Francis James
Whitlam Days (1975)
Down Under (1976) with Anne Brooksbank
A Very Good Year (1980)
Man, the musical (1990s) book and lyrics with Denny Lawrence, music by Chris Neal
A Local Man: A Play about Ben Chifley (2004) with Robin McLachlan
Shakespeare in Italy (2012) with Denny Lawrence
Intimate Strangers (unproduced) with Denny Lawrence

Screenplays

Newsfront (1978) with Anne Brooksbank
Fatty Finn (1980)
Maybe This Time (1980) with Anne Brooksbank
Goodbye Paradise (1983) with Denny Lawrence
Man of Flowers (1983) with Paul Cox
The Winds of Jarrah (1983)
My First Wife (1984) with Paul Cox
Unfinished Business (1985) – also directed
Top Kid (1985) (TV) with John Hepworth
The Paper Boy (1985) (TV) with John Hepworth
Cactus (1986) with Paul Cox
The Gilles Republic (1986) (TV)
Bullseye (1987)
Perhaps Love (1987) (TV)
True Believers (1988) (TV)
Warm Nights on a Slow Moving Train (1988) – also directed
Gilles and Company (1992) (TV)
Dreaming of Lords (1993) with Ernie Dingo – also directed
The Nostradamus Kid (1993) – also directed
Ebbtide (1994)
Wildside (1998) Episode 24
Bastards from the Bush, A Journey with Bob Ellis and Les Murray (1998) – documentary
Infamous Victory: Ben Chifley's Battle for Coal (2008) – documentary

Novels

Mad Dog Morgan (1976) – novelisation of film with Anne Brooksbank
Fatty Finn (1980) – based on his film script
Top Kid (1985) – novelisation with John Hepworth of his script
The Paper Boy (1985) -novelisation with John Hepworth of his script
The Hewson tapes : a secret history, perhaps, of our times (1993) – fictionalised diary of John Hewson
The Season (1996) – with Roy Masters

Non-fiction

The Things We Did Last Summer: An Election Journal – account of the Australian federal election, 1983
Two weeks in another country : a journal of the 1983 British election – account of the United Kingdom general election, 1983
Letters to the Future (1987) – collection of writings from 1969–87
The Inessential Ellis (1992) – collection of writings
Goodbye Jerusalem : night thoughts of a Labor outsider (1997) – writings centred on the history of the Australian Labor Party up to the Australian federal election, 1996
First abolish the customer: 202 arguments against economic rationalism (1998)
So it goes : essays, broadcasts, speeches 1987–1999 (1999)
Goodbye Babylon : further journeys in time and politics (2002)
Night thoughts in time of war (2004)
And so it went: night thoughts in a year of change (2009) – events around the Australian federal election, 2007
The capitalism delusion : how global economics wrecked everything and what to do about it (2009)
One hundred days of summer : how we got to where we are (2010)
Suddenly, last winter : an election diary (2010) – diary of the Australian federal election, 2010

Acting

I Own the Racecourse (1985) – film
The Human Behan (1995–96) – play
Waiting for Godot (2000) – play

Reviews

[Luca Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good, would recommend

[Travis Bird · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ellis provokes some people mightily, others disagree with every word he writes but enjoy reading it all the same. I find him mostly persuasive and I appreciate his writing style.

[Greg Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

persuasive arguments against the prevailing economic orthodoxy; time will ratify