ABSTRACT
Neoliberal restructuring is driving a dramatic rescaling of Australian political economy that has transformed it into a rapidly growing “success story” (“Australia’s Economic Performance,” 2006). In 2006, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) “commended the authorities on their sound macroeconomic management and continuing structural reform efforts that have underpinned the sustained strong economic performance.” Adding to this, the IMF ranked the Australian economy as one of the most resilient in the world, with economic growth surpassing most industrialised nations. Closer inspection reveals, however, that the prospects are not so “bright” for an increasing number of mostly poor, working class Australians who are having trouble putting food on the table or fi lling up their cars with fuel to get to school, work, or town (Bramble, 2004; Wynhausen, 2005). Having been seduced by the illusions of self-propelled neoliberalism, this daily battle for survival in the everyday world openly contradicts the claim that the “free market” is a classless meritocracy. Capitalism relies upon ideologies of meritocracy, which conceal the changing nature of exploitation (the origins of profi ts) and the enduring relevance of class. Emblematic of how class boundaries are blurred and concealed in Australia, the supposedly “outdated” concept of class is increasingly replaced with such generic terms as Aussie Battler and aspirational families (Scanlon, 2004). Within the realm of collective memory, this ideological trend creates a challenge for a political system that organizes or mobilizes that historical consciousness for the purpose of radical social change, as these terms actually glide over the real, material effects of class.
