Book Reviews
Open Australia
by Lindsay Tanner
Pluto Press, 1999, 248 pages, $24.95
Lindsay Tanner covers a lot of ground very quickly.
Technology, national identity, multiculturalism, loneliness, communities, globalisation, the role of government, taxation, competition policy, education, the environment and the political process are all dealt with in this slim, readable volume.
Tanner's short, confident sentences quickly plough through complex issues. Numerous endnotes cite sources to support facts or statements. Radical departures from traditional left-wing dogma are interspersed with the obligatory biffs for "conservative" governments along the way.
Tanner's central thesis is that the "avalanche of change" which Australians have experienced over the past 15 years is due not to the wicked economic rationalists, but to rapid technological change transforming the way in which economies and societies operate.
This change has many benefits, but in any event it is inevitable, so we ought to make the most of it. Globalisation cannot be prevented without enormous costs to our living standards.
Tariff reductions, deregulation, privatisation, downsizing, competition policy and enterprise bargaining have all been necessary consequences of this change, not its causes.
Australia is well placed to take advantage of the enormous opportunities which globalisation and the information economy offer, thanks to our well-educated population, technological sophistication and creativity. We should accept and welcome the shift of work to new jobs in the service and information industries, and not try forlornly to cling to the jobs of the past.
Tanner also argues that society today is still coming to grips with the legacy of the social revolution of the 1960s. Feminism, racial equality, sexual freedom and civil liberties produced many "profoundly positive social changes", but also contributed to a surge in social problems such as loneliness, alienation and loss of community.
Changes both in social values and the way society is organised around work are reducing social ties and participation in social institutions. In turn, this more individualistic organisation of society has led to interpersonal relationships being determined increasingly by choice rather than obligation. People are becoming valued for external characteristics such as appearance or wealth, rather than for their innate humanity.
Yet people need recognition and approval from their fellow human beings, which can only be achieved in a communal context. Those who are not chosen, or are dropped, often face social exclusion, resulting in family breakdown, drug abuse, suicide and violent behaviour.
To remedy this, our social policy must go beyond welfare to the building of institutions which can make sure that individuals are included in society -- a place to participate and a place to belong.
All of these changes will require the nature of government to change as well. As globalisation reduces governments' control over society, governments must move from command to persuasion and negotiation. As well, with old class groupings disappearing, the ALP needs to become more community focused and give a more direct say to grass-roots members.
There is much in Lindsay Tanner's book to agree with, particularly when he is disposing of various left-wing myths.
Globalisation and information technology offer enormous benefits to humanity, and Australia should move to take full advantage of them through openness and deregulation. The privatisation of government instrumentalities has been a result of new capital requirements, government budgetary needs, international competition for business customers and new technology breaking down boundaries between public and private provision. Rebuilding our tariff walls is no longer a viable option. Foreign investment in productive activity should be encouraged not resisted. Work-sharing to create jobs is of very limited value, and a mandatory reduction in working hours would have perverse effects.
Indeed, in terms of economic policy, one of the striking features of Tanner's book is that he does not propose any major departures from a policy of deregulation, flexibility and the greater use of the private sector in service provision. Proposed changes to economic policy are limited to restructuring corporate law to impose social obligations on companies, incorporation of labour rights clauses into international trade agreements, more government attention to and spending on education, and a closer integration of environmental implications into government decision-making.
There are, however, numerous subsidiary points on which one could disagree with Tanner.
The assertion that "free trade in products can happily coexist with a regulated labour market, because labour is a lot more than just a commodity" (page 14) is a glaring non sequitur.
The claim that the criteria of universal use of the product, non-contestability of the market and externalities in production and consumption lead to the conclusion that "gas, water, electricity and basic telecommunications systems" should remain in public ownership (page 101) is also a non sequitur.
The Victorian energy industry reforms have demonstrated that contestability in large parts of the gas and electricity industries is possible, nor do such industries seem to have any particularly significant externalities. There is certainly near-universal use, but there is also near-universal use of many foodstuffs, without that being considered grounds for public ownership.
The claim that we are moving into a "post-scarcity world" which poses a major challenge for conventional economic theory (page 75) misunderstands fact and theory. Scarcity and need are not absolutes. People have a hierarchy of needs/ wants, and if the more basic are met, people move on to the next priority. Our economy will never be at risk of running out of demand for goods or services or running out of work to be done. Rather, there will be choices and debate about what our individual and community priorities should be in consumption of goods and services, in work, in family, recreational and social activity, in regulation and in redistributional/ assistance measures.
Furthermore, Tanner is wrong in ascribing the rapid growth in international product, service and capital markets in recent years solely to the politically neutral factor of "technological change", however much that may be a face-saver for those of formerly socialist views.
Certainly, technological change is permitting a massive growth in international service provision and information exchange of types that were previously impossible. But the driving force which has led to the opening up of the economies of Asia, Central and South America, Eastern Europe and even Africa has been the reaction of governments and individuals to the manifest failure of the communist and socialist experiments.
These failures, and conversely the success of free markets in raising living standards around the world, is what has led many Third World governments to embrace free enterprise, and give up on former socialist, nationalist or other interventionist approaches. This would have occurred regardless of any post-Cold War technological change, albeit probably at a slower pace. The world in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries went through a similar explosion of liberalisation and growth relying on ships under sail, only later augmented by steam, railways and the telegraph.
Similarly, Tanner is wrong in ascribing the collapse of state socialism to "globalisation and changes in the process of production" (page 95). One can certainly argue that it was the TV set, fax machine and other technologies of the '70s and '80s which drove home to those in the former communist bloc the comparative failure of their regimes, and thus precipitated, or at least accelerated, the communist collapse. The Soviet model, however, was just as much a failure in the 1930s as in the 1980s, if not more so.
Turning to social issues, the great strength of Tanner's analysis is that he recognises that social problems have largely social rather than economic causes. He does not run the usual left-wing arguments that drugs, crime, homelessness, family breakdown, etc are due to the oppressive nature of the capitalist system, or that "if only" we spent more on welfare payments or services, or reduced income inequality, these problems would be cured.
Tanner does, however, identify some economic factors as contributing to current social problems. The explosion in productivity "has reduced the number of jobs in which men are clearly superior", and "increased the number of jobs which are more desirable than full time domestic work", leading to "growing confusion about the role of men" and a consequent increase in anti-social behaviour by young males (pages 76-77).
(It may be responded to Tanner's argument that technological change is merely changing the category of men who struggle to find a role -- the light-weight nerd who would have struggled previously is now a software writer in great demand, whereas the hale and hearty man who formerly would have been the village blacksmith now cannot find work. On the other hand, technological change and the reduced importance of physical work may lead to Tanner's conclusion more indirectly. Such changes, together with various social changes, may arguably increase both the ability and the willingness of women to manage without permanent male partners. This, together with a fall in relative mortality rates among males, could create the problem of a significant net increase in the number of males wanting but unable to find permanent partners or establish families. This could well be expected to produce the increased anti-social behaviour to which Tanner refers.)
Unfortunately, having described and analysed our social problems well, Tanner's proposed solutions are fairly limited. He wants governments and individuals to support community institutions such as neighbourhood houses, sporting clubs, libraries, public housing residents' associations, community health centres and legal centres. He also proposes extending childcare service provision, a "renewed commitment" to public housing, a redesigned welfare benefit structure, and some notion of mutual obligation without being punitive.
Support for community institutions is a sound proposal as far as it goes (although the inclusion of legal centres is curious). For those who are willing to join in provided there is something to join in with, such institutions can be most valuable. Self-improvement clubs for retirees and welfare associations for elderly people of ethnic backgrounds are two clear examples that have flourished in recent years.
Government support for community organisations of itself, however, is not enough. There need to be people of community spirit available and willing to run them, and more importantly, people need to be willing to join in. Those who are too badly alienated from society won't do so. "Youth drop-in centres" for young people hanging around shopping centres seldom seem to work. Nor, of course, are community organisations likely to play a major role in solving problems such as why so many families break up or why so many young people decide to take drugs.
Thus we need to go further than giving support to community organisations. We need to address the fundamental issue of our social mores -- people's individual personal behaviour towards others, how we bring up our children and the values we teach them, how well we know and help our neighbours, how much individuals participate in the life of their local community.
This is a difficult issue for any government -- difficult because it goes to people's personal lives, and difficult because it is not just a matter of governments rolling out a policy or funding a new or expanded service. Indeed, one can argue that the undue looking to government to provide the answers is itself part of the problem, because it reflects a lack of individual and community willingness to take responsibility. Fundamental change won't take place unless individual people want it to happen and themselves make it happen.
There are, however, actions that governments can take. Some government-supported services can help change attitudes or prevent or remedy various problems, such as peer support programmes in schools, or child protection services. Parliaments can legislate, which can not only have some direct effect, but also may send a social message. The Child Support Agency not only collects money, its existence sends the message that parents are responsible for the financial support of their children. As well, Prime Ministers, Premiers and other Members of Parliament can provide leadership through agenda-setting and their contributions to public debate.
Open Australia does not spend much time on these matters. Apart from support for community institutions, it pursues a materialistic path strangely at odds with its preceding analysis.
Rationalising the welfare benefit structure to remove disincentives is a good thing, but doesn't help fundamental social problems. Providing more welfare support as services rather than cash is debatable. Locationally targeting community institutions in Sunshine rather than Brighton to reduce use by high-income earners, as Tanner proposes, could be seen cynically as an excuse for pork-barrelling. In any event, it would be unfair to low-income earners in generally prosperous areas, such as the large number of public housing tenants in the Brighton area.
Overall, how one judges Tanner's book depends on the criteria against which one assesses it. The acuteness of his observations and analysis, and his ability to marshal and deploy a wide range facts to support his arguments, show intelligence and breadth of knowledge. The arguments are clear, frank and direct. If one judges the book by what it augurs for the future of Australian politics, it is highly encouraging that much of the old dogma of the socialist left is being challenged from within and hopefully swept away.
If one judges Open Australia by the new solutions or new directions it lays down, however, it is lacking and we will have to see if Tanner will redress this on some future occasion.
Nonetheless, if one has an interest in Australian political debate, Open Australia is well worth reading for its insight into the thinking of this rising figure of the Australian left.
No comments:
Post a Comment