From the suburbs: Mark Latham and the ideology of the ALP

Abstract

Mark Latham could justifiably claim to be amongst the most intellectually prolific of Labor politicians, with his output of books, chapters, newspaper articles and key speeches challenging that of other Labor intellectuals such as Gough Whitlam, Gareth Evans and Jim Cairns. Consequently, this paper cannot hope to cover all aspects of his arguments. Rather it focuses on a particular issue in Latham’s thought, namely his views on inequality and uses that focus to throw light on his relationship to broader ideological traditions in the ALP and international social democracy.1 It will be argued that while Latham draws on several Labor traditions in Labor ideology, including some Whitlamite perspectives, his views on inequality show significant differences from those espoused by previous post-war Labor politicians such as Whitlam, Hawke and Keating. The neo-liberal influences on his thought are particularly strong and have implications for his views on class as well as gender, racial and ethnic inequality. The analysis will therefore begin with an account of Latham’s views on capitalism and class.