Lessons from Langmore's Vision
I'm honoured to share that my article 'Lessons from Langmore's Vision' has been published in the latest issue (No. 92) of the Journal of Australian Political Economy (JAPE)!
JAPE is a leading academic journal focused on political economy analysis related to Australia. It is published by the Economists for Peace and Social Justice collective at the University of Sydney.
This particular Issue No. 92 is a special themed edition examining key policy areas and challenges for the newly elected Labor government. While not following the journal's usual peer-review process, it provides an important platform to analyse and debate progressive policy directions.
In my contributed article, I revisit the remarkably prescient economic vision outlined by the late John Langmore in his landmark 1983 JAPE piece 'Economic Strategy for a Labor Government.' Langmore boldly called for integrated policies to deliver full employment, price stability and greater equity through strategic economic management.
You can access my article at https://www.ppesydney.net/content/uploads/2024/02/20-Quinn.pdf.
Over four decades later, I argue Langmore's aims have become even more vital in the face of repeated market failures, financial instability, entrenched inequality and environmental crises produced by neoliberal policy agendas. The article makes a case for an ambitious progressive reform programme to remake the Australian political economy along more just, sustainable and inclusive lines.
Some key policy areas explored include:
Using fiscal policy and public investment to drive full employment
Reregulation of key sectors and strategic price controls
Strengthening social security and reducing poverty
Fostering economic democracy and empowering workers' voices
Major public housing construction and rental affordability reforms
Tax reform to tackle avoidance and enhance progressivity
Green economic transition and climate change investments
Issue 92 includes the full article, providing an accessible long-form analysis. While enacting such an agenda faces real hurdles, I explore some opportunities for building successful coalitions to turn Langmore's unfinished vision into a reality.
You can access the full issue at https://www.ppesydney.net/jape-issues/issue-92-summer-2023-2024/. I welcome any thoughts or reactions to continue this important debate on charting a new course for the Australian political economy.
I even received a delightful email from Professor John Langmore, OAM.
Langmore said he was delighted to discover my piece when the journal arrived, generously praising the "logical, lucid and constructive contents" that took his original proposals seriously. In his email, he affirmed that the policy elaborations and ideas I put forward "are excellent", noting some could be implemented relatively easily while others may need public education to build support.
He asked about what led me to revisit his decades-old work, saying he continues to view the "heterodox ideas" he advocated as "logical mainstream" solutions for achieving vital economic aims like full employment, equity and sustainability. I'm honoured by his interest in my future plans to explore these perspectives further.
Langmore expressed warm encouragement and faith that these progressive economic frameworks can have real-world impact. Receiving his "wholehearted appreciation" from someone who has thought so deeply about these issues is immensely validating.
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Nice. In one of my Political Economy classes at USYD, a slide came up of the Prime Minister occupying the clock tower, protesting for a Political Economy Department following the neoclassicals’ purge of Economics. Mr. Albanese needs to climb back up that clock tower, and rediscover what “hot Albo” was fighting for.