Capital Accumulation in the “Lucky Country”: Australia from the “Sheep’s Back” to the “Quarry Economy.” Part II: The Commonwealth Period

Abstract

The Australian economy went from being amongst the mostpromising areas of "new settlement," to producing one of themost "mediocre" rich-country performances, only to later enjoy a "miraculous" revival. This is the second part of a two-part article that presents an account of this Australian trajectory that is critical of mainstream traditions. Drawing on key insights of Marx´s critique of political economy, this article argues that Australia´s role in the production of surplus-value on global scale has specifically determined its pattern of long-term economic and political development. Since its creation by British capital, the Australian economy became not only a source of cheap raw materials butalso of ground-rent for appropriation by competing social subjects. Part I examined the colonial period. This second part analyses the Commonwealth period. It is argued that the process of inwards-oriented industrialisation, in place until the mid-1980s, was the state-mediated economic form through which capital invested in manufacturing managed to appropriate the largest share of the Australian ground-rent. It also argues that during theneo-liberal era that followed that process, manufacturing capital was increasingly displaced by industrial capital invested in miningand public services.