From its very inception Australia has been a derivative society: First as part of the British Empire and then, soon after World War II, what Mosler considers the American Empire and the new end-of-century Americanized global culture. This has meant that Australia has struggled to attain its own identity. Mosler explores that struggle for national independence, a struggle that seems to be doomed to failure.
According to Mosler, the reasons for this failure lie in Australia's propensity to remain a recreational culture; a culture more attuned to pleasure and dependence than regimented hard work and the concomitant collective pattern of national assertiveness. The Australian economy, defense arrangements, culture, and psychology have been dominated by other nations and transnational forces. The prospects for the nation in the future appear to be somewhat grim unless this historical pattern of dependence and lack of respect, indeed almost contempt, for national institutions is reversed. A provocative analysis that will be of interest to scholars, students, researchers, and anyone interested in Australian history and contemporary life and culture.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Glossary
Australian Prime Ministers from World War II to the Present
Preface
The Historical Origins of the Recreational Society
The Birth of a Nation
The Economy
The State
The Culture: The Family, Sports, the Arts, the "Spiritual," and the First Australians
The Education System
Conclusion and the Future: Australia--the 51st State of America
Epilogue
Appendix
Bibliography
Index
