Over on one of the other blogs I edit- Challenging the Market- there are two new pieces by West Australians who write on contemporary social and political issues.
Susie Byers piece shows that a publicly run woman's prison can deliver successful outcomes in terms of rehabilitation and integration of prisoners into the community. Sarah Burnside critiques the market logic and contradictions involved in Opposition Leader Tony Abbot's plans to reform the Disability support pension.
Challenging the Market is an initiative of the WA Social Justice Network (of which I am the co-convenor) to publicize the writings of Western Australian citizens and activists who support economic, environmental, racial and social justice.
The blog provides a space for people concerned about the extension of market, corporate and business values into so many spheres of daily life with the resulting debasement of democracy, public policy, civic life and political debate. The extension of market, corporate and business values into so many spheres of daily life is detrimental to the wellbeing and social fabric of WA.
We aim to challenge the dominant market and corporate worldview. Relying on the market to solve social and environmental problems it has created is shortsighted and dangerous.
