Election 2025 is less about Liberal vs Labor, more about the top 20% vs the rest

The common interests of Australia's top 20% - including politicians and public service – override political theatrics. Across party lines, the powerful "stakeholders" can diss voters almost as one voice.

Hence my world-weary axioms for Australian party-politics (a) we're all neoliberals now (b) we only have eyes for each other and (c) aren't voters just about the worst?

According to the latest Australian Population Research Institute survey, said voters don't support the elite or neoliberal agenda, nor its "progressive values and immigration policies". They don't really care, if or how Dr Chalmers is "curbing inflationary outcomes". They're somewhat out of sync with the "economic technocracy" implementing neoliberal dogma.

They even support manufacturing protection or tariffs (67%) plus higher taxes on businesses and the rich. They would like lower or much lower immigration (80%). Lacking refined Treasury sensibilities, they reckon more people = dearer housing.

American sociologist Musa al-Gharbi characterises the economic technocracy as symbolic capitalists. Peel away their self-regarding wokeness and social justice, they're in it for the top 1%, and themselves. As in, our Bank of Mum and Dad.

Makes some sense. When was the top 20% of any society ever in it for the rest? According to French economist Thomas Piketty and many other scholars, they kind of were, during a few halcyon 20^th century decades. After which, according to Piketty's graphs and charts, wealthy nations have the current system. (At least) one large party for the wealthy, and similar for the educated, and short shrift for the workers.

Denmark we are not

Reviewing al-Gharbi here and here, I whinged a bit.

It seemed to me over the top, to depict Mr Dutton as a fearsome Mini Trump. Differences between him and Mr Albanese were exaggerated. Both cited UN net zero, whilst backing our energy (export-gas) sellout. Both were comfortable enough with UN open borders, whilst offering expansive gestures to "fix" housing affordability.

In fairness, the Coalition could never have pushed 2022-25 immigration as high as 1.3 million. They wouldn't have hired the hundreds of extra visa-processing staff, costing $40 million annually. Though they've heartily endorsed Albanese's immigration sellout to sectarian Narendra Modi, would they themselves have initiated it?

In any event, the upcoming election isn't such a fateful choice for the lower orders.

They can expect excitable media chatter, about the global threat of Mr Trump, maybe the local threat of Fatima Payman, or the competing log-cabin stories of Mr Albanese and Mr Dutton. After the election dust has settled, there will still be energy sellout, mass immigration, regressive education-funding, housing hunger-games, extremely generous real-estate tax-lurks, and personal-taxation creep.