In this episode I interview Dr Elizabeth Humphrys. Elizabeth is a political economist interested in the impact of economic crisis and climate change on workers, and how workplaces can be made safer and more equitable. Her research focusses on work health and safety and questions of control over the labour process. Her current projects include the impact of climate change on workers and the politics of adaptation, and the growing prevalence of silicosis disease among workers.

In the interview, we talk about her book How Labour Built Neoliberalism, published in 2018. In that book, Elizabeth investigates the development of neoliberalism in Australia. She argues that, in contrast to its development in countries such as the US and the UK, neoliberalism in Australia was largely instituted by trade unions and the ALP through what is known as the Accord process. She explores the nature of the Australian state and its relation to capital and organised labour. In diagnosing the ways in which oppositional forces such as organised labour are incorporated into the status quo, she helps us to understand how we got here, and clears the way for thinking about how to avoid and overcome this process of incorporation.

Cover art by Honor Webster-Mannison. Music is Despegue by Makiza.

//Links//

https://overland.org.au/2019/04/taking-back-worker-power-elizabeth-humphrys-how-labour-built-neoliberalism/

https://www.ppesydney.net/how-labour-built-neoliberalism/

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