Raj Patel – the author of The Value of Nothing and Stuffed & Starved – was in Sydney for the writers’ festival. In an electrifying conversation with journalist Ross Gittens, Patel blasted free market ideology, extolled ‘commons’ and confessed he’s a big disappointment to his family. Here are seven things Patel said. 1. Becoming an […]

This year, with two elections in Victoria, Australia, it’s time to think about the political. Not that I ever stop thinking about it, given my past: the uncivil sixties, two communist parties, decades of feminism and a talismanic text, Bloch’s three volume The Principle of Hope, purchased from the International Bookshop as late as 1986. […]

Anyone who claims Canberra is a boring, stuffy place wasn’t down by Lake Burley Griffin yesterday for the World Naked Bike Ride. On a glorious day with a sky full of scribbled cloud, cyclists left their clothes at home in favour of outfits constructed mostly from paint. The ride is intended to expose the dangers […]