Ken Buckley

No Paradise for Workers. Capitalism and the Common People in Australia 1788-1914

Written for a popular audience, this is the first radical history of capitalism in Australia. It analyses the social and political relations of that economic system imposed on the original Australians by British imperialism 200 years ago. It traces its evolution from colonial prison to a neo-colony of international finance capital, caught in the vortex between the two contemporary empires of the Pacific, the USA and Japan. The first of two volumes deals with the formation of the system from its beginnings as a prison farm to the consolidation of pastoral capitalism, and the emergence of an organized working class and incipient manufacturing industry to 1914. Hence it covers such topics as the expropriation of the original Australians; the genesis of capitalism as a police state based on forced labour; the origins of the colonial ruling class of pastoralists and merchant capitalists; the rise of the bourgeoisie, the making of the working class; struggles between and within social classes; nationalism and federation by the men of property; populism, racism, monopolies, imperialism, and war. Economic historians; students of Australian history.

Division of Labour: Industrial Relations in the Chifley Years 1945-1949

The prime ministership of J.B. Chifley from 1945 to 1949 covered one of the most turbulent periods in the history of Australian industrial relations. Popularly believed to be the work of agitators sent by Moscow, the labor unrest during this period was actually due to other, more domestic factors. Here, Sheridan presents an authoritative account of the events and people of this era. He challenges long-held beliefs and provides new insights into this watershed period in Australian politics and industrial relations.

The Role of Labour: The Amalgamated Society of Engineers

I am in some difficulty over the first part of the title of this paper: the role of labour. To consider that adequately would require analysis of such factors as the general economy of Australia and fluctuations in the economy from time to time; the structure of industry?such questions as the average size of firms, and the consequent concentration or scattering of workers; and the opportun ities, attitudes, and ideas, as available to or held by workers (or sections of workers) on the one hand, and employers on the other. Examination of the interaction of such factors is needed to explain any labour movement satisfactorily. It would take much longer than an hour, and it would be difficult. I am therefore not going to attempt it?though I shall make some incidental references. Instead, I propose to confine myself to some aspects and charac teristics of the history of one trade union?the Australian Section of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers in the second half of the nineteenth century. I shall refer to this union as the A.S.E., though it changed its name in 1920 to Amalgamated Engineering Union (A.E.U.). The A.S.E. should not be confused with the rival and still existing body with the same initials?the Australasian Society of Engineers, which was established in 1890, nearly forty years later than the A.S.E.