ABSTRACT
In Australia debates over economic and industry policy have several layers. There is a perception that the present policy is one of deregulation-the state removing itself from interference in the operations of capital. Underlying that perception, of course, is the notion that the state is separate from capital; that these are two separable entities. There is a perception that we, a small nation a long way from the seats of political and financial power, are subject to the overwhelming force of globalization, an impersonal trend imposed on us from outside. Above all, there is the perception that globalization has forced deregulation: that an identifiable social and industrial policy, designed to protect the interests of (some) Australians, is not possible in a global era.
