Think Again

John Falzon from PerCapita discusses how the illusions of neoliberal capitalism are dismantling, such as the idea that everyone gets what they deserve and those who are struggling have only themselves to blame. In fact, many of the settings in our system manufacture poverty and inequality. Examples given are wage suppression, rate rises that disproportionately hit workers, escalating cost-of-livin...

Jacques speaks with Denise Budge who shares her insights from her past 37 years in the community sector, most recently with Knox Infolink. Denise talks about the issues affecting communities and people, and how the community sector is struggling to address the escalating need. Systemic factors behind this need include the lack of affordable housing, and Centrelink payments that are way below the p...

Jacques and Jennifer continue discussion on US strategies for world domination and why we shouldn't get caught in its vortex. They offer some hope in examples of resistance - in our own media and politics, but also by nations internationally who don't want to 'take sides'. There are certainly cracks appearing in the assumed consensus about the 'rightness' of US dominance, offering some hope for pe...

Jacques and Jennifer continue their critical look at the dangerous drumming up of war with China, while focusing on the intersecting vested interests (which they call 'system collusion'). In particular, the media has been a reckless player in this 'systemic collusion' and has failed to interrogate the decision to spend huge sums on nuclear submarines way into the future, in support of the US imper...

Jacques and Jennifer look at who is benefitting from the drumming up of war with China, and the plans for mammoth spending on nuclear submarines. They begin with a critique of the hysterical one-sided reporting in Nine Entertainment's papers, The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald, which cites 'experts' with close ties to arms producers and the US government. Media companies, like Nine Entertainmen...

Elias Colabrianos talks about his upbringing in Greece, his arrival in Australia at the age of 18 in 1972 (when Whitlam was PM), and his experience and passion for community radio. Elias was brought up in a political family, and naturally found his way to community activism in the 1970s in Australia, in the context of the anti-Vietnam war protests. His broadcasting career started with 3ZZ in the e...

Jennifer and Jacques talk about three ways that class war is being waged through 'systemic collusion' (between people, corporations, government, media and other parties benefitting most from the system). Their three examples are superannuation, inflation + wage depression, and the business of gambling. While attempts to more equally distribute our common wealth are decried by conservatives as 'cla...

Jennifer and Jacques explore the meanings of ownership and property in western thought, and how concepts of land use and productivity have been used to justify the dispossession of first nations people. ReferencesGnuse, R (1985) You Shall Not Steal: Communiy and Property in the Biblical Tradition. New York: Orbis BooksJurczak, P. (2019) Ch.10 - The Nature of Property in Introduction to Philosophy....

In Think Again we regularly illustrate how society’s  and the community’s response to matters of addiction, of poverty or disadvantage is too often one of blaming and stigmatising those who have fallen victim to these influences and of the systems that have caused them. Just think about Robodebt for a moment which is in the news right now...One addiction we have often talked about is gambling and...

Jennifer and Jacques talk about the social malaises and illnesses that capitalism generates, and how corporations then profit from an array of 'remedies' like alcohol, gambling, junk food, pharmaceutical products, and a wide array of consumer products. Often these 'remedies' are addictive,leading to a deepening of ailments and problems. According to Gabor Mate, in his book The Myth of Normal, poli...

Jennifer and Jacques talk about three values that guide thinking and organising by Borderlands Cooperative and conversations on Think Again. These values are: (1) relating and dialogue, (2) diversity and difference, and (3) the practice and nature of inclusion. Firstly, they argue we need to recognise that we are relational beings - in ongoing relating with other people, systems, and the natural w...

Jennifer and Jacques talk about the worldwide trend toward government austerity measures, and cutbacks to the spending necessary for people's wellbeing. They compare Australia with the Nordic countries, with Australia being a much lower taxing country, and needing to invest considerably more on social goods like public housing, Centrelink payments, and high quality education for all. The good news...

Jennifer talks with Andrew Scott from the Australia Institute Nordic Policy Centre about how Finland manages its affairs so well in quite a few domains like wellbeing, education, equality, gender fairness, and corruption. Andrew discusses why we would be better off learning from Finland than going down the US road. Reference:Here is a link to the book Andrew co-edited, The Nordic Edge: Policy Poss...

Jennifer and Jacques revisit the notion of class, which seems to have come back into fashion and is more relevant than ever. Similarly, critiques of capitalism are becoming more common in public discourse, along with escalating crises like growing inequality, environmental devastation, and the undermining of democratic processes by concentrated wealth. References:Wolfgang Streeck (2014) How will c...

The mainstream media presents the war in Ukraine as a simple contest between goodies and baddies, or heroes and villians - with the good guys, led by the US and the west, portrayed as champions of democracy. However, this is far from the truth. Jennifer and Jacques draw on a range of sources to explain how the US actively works against democracy to ensure its own ongoing world dominance. To start...

Today we're talking about health – again;  Jacques has a conversation with Doctor Hung The Nguyen, a general practitioner who has been working in primary health for long years, applying a community development approach to primary health; Hung is also active in medical-cultural educational work and shares his learning based especially on his work in Aboriginal Controlled Health Services in the Nort...

Jennifer and Jacques talk about class - how it has gone out of fashion to talk about it since the 1950s, and especially since the 1980s with neoliberalism and the denial that there is serious wealth and income inequality. Nevertheless, the concept of class seems to be having a revival, with several books on the topic being recently released. It's also worth having a look at the recommended reading...

Jacques interviews David Legge, activist in the community and public health and environmental movements since the seventies. Together they recall the 1970s and 1980s when the  Community Development in Health (CDIH) in Victoria was an attempt at creating  a preventative approach to public and community health, linking Community Development theory and practice to the on-the-ground work in the public...

Jennifer interviews Mark Boulet from BehaviourWorks Australia at Monash University. Mark talks about the magnitude of the food waste problem world wide, and how over half of food waste happens at the household level. Mark talks about his multi-layered, whole system framework for understanding and addressing the problem. While BehaviourWorks  focuses on helping people with behaviour change, it take...

Jennifer and Jacques talk about 'freedom', starting with how the west pinched the notion from indigenous people in present-day Canada during the Enlightenment, some centuries ago. After discussing different concepts of freedom, they apply it to the workplace. Specifically, under hierarchical, command-and-control 'managerialism', are workers really free? - or are they forced to trade their freedom...

Jennifer talks with Mark Zirnsak from the Tax Justice Network Australia about wellbeing budgeting as championed by the Treasurer, Jim Chalmers. They discuss the questions: What is a wellbeing budget?, and To what extent is the latest federal budget a wellbeing budget? Aspects of the budget that come under scrutiny include tax breaks for the wealthy (known as Stage 3 tax cuts), and Centrelink payme...

Jacques and Jennifer continue discussion about the United Nations, and the best approach to building international peace and cooperation. Instead of earlier hopes and promises of the UN as a vehicle for international cooperation on a range of issues like human rights, ecology, peace, and health, the last thirty years have seen a resurgence of nationalism, populism, and violence. With this in mind,...

Jacques and Jennifer talk about the United Nations and its vital role in global matters relating to human rights, climate, economics, peace, and health and well-being. Referenceshttps://johnmenadue.com/b-52s-at-raaf-tindal-commits-australia-to-americas-nuclear-war-plans/https://johnmenadue.com/with-nuke-capable-b-52s-coming-albanese-is-now-the-new-deputy-sheriff/https://johnmenadue.com/extraordina...

Tony Moore talks about the Conviction Politics project which shares information and stories about the resistance and activism of convicts, who were exploited as free labour to build the colony. 3,600 convicts were political prisioners and they brought their movements for political change to Australia. This paved the way for reforms such as the right for working class people to vote, and the right...

Jennifer talks with Noongar author Claire G Coleman about the meaning of the death of the queen for Aboriginal people, reflecting on a range of views reported in the mainstream media.