Capitalism in Australia: New histories for a reimagined future

Abstract

Capitalism is back. Three decades ago, when all alternatives to liberal democracy and free markets appeared discredited, talk of capitalism seemed passé. Now, after a decade of political and economic turmoil, capitalism and its temporal critique of progress and decline again seems an indispensable category to understanding a world in flux. Among the social sciences, historians have led both the embrace and critique of this ‘re-emergent’ concept. This roundtable discussion between leading and emerging Australian scholars working across histories of economy, work, policy, geography and political economy, extends this agenda. Representing the outcome of a workshop convened at La Trobe University in November 2018 and responding to questions posed by conveners Huf and Rees, five participants debate the nature, utility and future of the new constellation of ‘economic’ historical scholarship. While conducted well before the outbreak of COVID-19, the ensuring discussion nevertheless speaks saliently to the crises of our times.

‘A great many of them die’: Sugar, race and cheapness in colonial Queensland

“…[Correction added on 3 May 2024, after first online publication: the reference year for Robinson has been updated to cite the latest edition in the preceding sentence.] Considering a recent resurgence of historical interest in capitalism as a denaturalized, historically specific object within Australian history (Forsyth & Loy‐Wilson, 2017, 2021; Huf et al, 2020; Rees & Huf, 2020), together with the political and theoretical necessity of an explanation for the origins of our current socioecological crises, the time is ripe for serious, historical, world‐ecological contributions. This lacuna is also identified by Julie McIntyre, who notes ‘Australian historians of labour and environment do not participate in international debates about whether or how to consider the historical intersection of nature and labour, or, indeed, nature, labour, and capitalism’ (McIntyre, 2021, p. 73).…”