It is always wrong but right now nobody stands for anything!
The Coalition is a centre-Right, liberal-leaning, small government party with a penchant for individualism and personal, as well as national, security. Yet today it’s major policy platforms are:
- anti-science and anti-climate change, especially market solutions;
- anti-markets and innovation in its embrace of rent-seekers;
- anti-competition and competitiveness in its embrace of real estate distortions;
- open borders mass-immigration
- pro big-government and budget deficits.
The Nationals are traditionally an economic nationalist group that only shares power with the Liberal Party owing to shared social conservatism. Economically, it has much more in common with traditional Labor in seeking to protect local agrarian interests. These days that boils down to little more than the odd outburst of China bashing.
One Nation is an anti-evidence, proto-fascist party that bases its policies on deep social conservatism, racism and economic nationalism.
The Labor Party is a centre-Left, liberal-leaning, smallish government party with a penchant for class-based notions of personal destiny, as well as some commitment to economic nationalism in protecting industry and, in particular, the labour market. Yet today it’s major policy platforms are:
- market-based solutions to climate change;
- anti-markets and innovation in its embrace of rent-seekers;
- market-based solutions for real estate distortions;
- open borders mass-immigration and a supply-flooded labour market that is undermining wages;
- class is irrelevant and pro-capital;
- pro small government and budget surpluses.
The Greens are are a centre-Left socialist leaning gaggle that supports:
- market-based solutions to climate change without any discernible difference from Labor vis wider environmental goals;
- market-based solutions for real estate distortions;
- the welfare state;
- open borders mass-immigration and a supply-flooded labour market that is undermining wages;
- class is irrelevant and pro-capital;
- pro bigger government and budget deficits.
In other words in terms of traditional alliances:
- Liberal and Nationals are incoherent;
- One Nation is the Nationals;
- Labor is Liberal, and
- The Greens are Labor but without the labour.
It’s post-modern politics, a pastiche of parties selectively quoting from various traditional ideologies to support today’s vested interests. Nobody has any real roots in history and all are adrift.
Anything is possible in this environment.
