Beyond Right And Left (new Politics And The Culture Wars)

Maps the death of politics based on the traditional opposition between Left and Right, and offers a provocative argument for the emergence of a new values-based politics in Australia.’original, courageous, realistic and fresh’ Robert Manne, Professor, School of Politics, La Trobe University. Do Right and Left still mean anything in politics? Are environmental issues always ‘left wing’? Is it only ‘right wing’ to worry about the family? In fact, these traditional connections have broken down, but what is taking their place? In Australian politics today a new free market Right holds the ascendancy in ideas, while Labor and the Left struggle with a crisis of belief. David McKnight makes a compelling argument that the new Right has a radical agenda, not a conservative one. He shows how this drives some of the most vexed issues of our time overconsumption, work-family balance, immigration and the environment. McKnight points to the rise of a new politics based on moral values, and argues that the Left needs to rethink its fundamental ideas. He offers a positive political vision beyond Right and Left which he calls a ‘new humanism’, based on classic principles of freedom, compassion for others and the common good. Provocative, original and incisive, Beyond Right and Left is certain to spark widespread debate. About Author: David McKnight is Senior Lecturer in Humanities at the University of Technology, Sydney and an expert on Australian political history.