the Shock of Familiar: Australia's Conflicted Future

Most analyses of Australia recycle familiar frameworks and policy solutions. This book offers a fresh account of how 'the familiar' threatens Australian society. It examines how profound changes in occupations, technology, cultural practices and social relations have affected the capitalist and working classes, and whether a new class has emerged to challenge dominant power structures. Very few books have examined the major changes to Australia's class structure over the past forty years. How have these changes affected political realignments, the decline in support for the major parties and the possibilities of social change? Will decarbonisation strengthen or destabilise Australian capitalism? Why is there so little public debate about which industries, forms of employment, essential services and income provision could replace the existing fossil-fuel-based economy and society? Will Australia be constrained by foreign corporations controlling key parts of the economy, or can it develop more environmentally sustainable policies and a more socially just, care-based economy, with complementary foreign policies in the Indo-Pacific region?The Shock of the Familiar not only analyses Australia's dominant economic, social, environmental and foreign policies but also examines prospects for social reform or radical change. This book is essential for anyone seeking to understand contemporary Australia and its future possibilities.