ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at twenty-first-century Australia as a 'cosmopolitan' but also intensely 'capitalistic' country. By positing a juxtaposition between these two concepts, it argues there is both an interdependence and tension between them, and that the current historical moment requires an analysis of this complex relationship. The chapter uses Australia as a case study, since the 'lucky country' may be one of its best global examples. As a neoliberal capitalist but also a 'cosmopolitan' multicultural country, Australia is representative of the 'Anglosphere', a global network of main English-speaking countries. In the post-war period, Australia has been a signatory and an active participant in both international legal frameworks. The chapter identifies a contradiction within the culture and politics of a diverse, multicultural, globally connected country which pursues an interventionist international agenda in support of its key ally, the US, but at the same time follows an isolationist and exceptionalist agenda around its cosmopolitan obligations.
