The politics of fear, terror and security

The challenge for the union movement is to support Lawrence and others, from all factions, who are prepared to stand up for true Labor values. Because only when they are prepared do this, will they also be prepared to promote a union agenda.

As one ALP Insider observed this week: "when Australians want a piss-weak, do-nothing, middle-of-the-road government, we're a shoe in".

They don't, they won't and they never will. Until the Federal ALP accepts it has to stand on its principles, even in the face of opinion polls and right-wing ranters, it deserves to languish in Opposition.

Terror Australis

When the historians get down to chronicling 2002 their analysis will read simply: the Bali bombing brought the new era of terror home to Australians and heightened our feelings of insecurity and fear at our ill-defined place in the world.

The new climate of uncertainty has emerged by both necessity and design. We are rightly careful of terrorist attacks on our citizens; less justifiably our politicians are manoeuvring to maximise their political position, acutely aware of the benefits an incumbent faces in times of crisis.

Within this climate it has been easy to focus on the obvious symbols of terror: Muslim extremists, Saddam's alleged weapons of mass destruction, hordes of refugees banging down our doors. We sit cowed in a corner, braced for war, too scared to think beyond the next attack

This white noise has drowned out the other trend in 2003: the continuing mutations of global capital as it spirals out of control, powered by the one remaining world power that regards it as an end in itself.

The mega-corporate collapses in the US of Enron and World-com were to corporate fraud what the S11 attacks were to geo-politics. HIH is our corporate Bali; individuals playing outside all the rules of humanity causing pain and distress to thousands.

Corporations larger than nations providing wealth beyond the dreams of ordinary workers, with CEO's on options packages which actually reward them for the short-term stock price, rather than the long-term health of the enterprise.

Global capital is now acting as recklessly and destructively as the extremists whose violence has shattered our sense of security.

And if the US Hawks get their war on Iraq the dynamics of global capital and geo-politics will have finally converged on a battleground on which few can confidently predict the ultimate outcome.

There is little to celebrate from this new global dynamic and much to fear; yet the bitter irony is that the times are right for trade unions.