ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Clive Hamilton is the executive director of the Australia Institute and a leading authority on the economics and politics of climate change. His books include the bestsellers Scorcher: The Dirty Politics of Climate Change, Growth Fetish, Affluenza (as co-author), Silencing Dissent (as co-editor and contributor) and Quarterly Essay 21: What's Left? – The Death of Social Democracy.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

There’s much to agree with in Clive Hamilton’s essay: he’s spot-on in arguing that the ALP can no longer base itself in a heartland of scarcity, not only for the sake of electoral success, but also for the sake of low-paid workers and those dependent on benefits.

Guy Rundle

Clive Hamilton’s essay cuts deeper than many recent appreciations of Labor’s predicament, and his conclusion that Labor is missing the plot by imitating the government and moving (if anything) to its right is persuasive.

Don Aitken

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