ABSTRACT

Towards the end of the 1970s we witnessed a turning point in history. The rise of Thatcherism in the UK and Reaganism in the US, as well as the conversion of labour and social democratic governments in countries such as Australia and New Zealand to free market policies, marked a shift in government priorities. Corporate interest began to take priority over national interests and the nation state began to fade as the pre-eminent organizing principle for human societies.