A conversation with Wayne Swan, former Treasurer of Australia (2007-2013), Deputy Prime Minister of Australia (2010-2013), and currently National President of the Australian Labor Party.

In this interview Wayne Swan draws together his reflections on the social contract over the years, from his 2012 article "The 0.01 Per Cent: The Rising Influence of Vested Interests in Australia" (https://www.themonthly.com.au/rising-influence-vested-interests-australia-001-wayne-swan-4670#mtr) and his book "The Good Fight" (https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/general-books/current-affairs-politics/The-Good-Fight-Wayne-Swan-9781743319352) to his latest concerns about Australia's post-COVID recovery.

Topics of conversation include: What is Australia's social contract? The social contract, vested interests and big money. The Americanization of Australian politics. News Limited and media vested interests in Australia. Trust, civility and the social contract. A social contract that transcends party politics? Capitalism and the social contract. COVID and the social contract What's at stake for the social contract at the next election?

The conversation took place on 4 November, 2021, as part of the Social Contract Research Network's "Rewriting the Social Contract" project. To find out more about the Social Contract Research Network, please visit https://www.monash.edu/arts/languages-literatures-cultures-linguistics/social-contract-research-network

A video version of the conversation is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om_51Pbli7Q&ab_channel=SocialContractResearchNetwork

SCRN YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq7geWYdmGE3kIcJrw8Ebsw

Civilization and its Others: American Imaginaries, State of Nature, and Civility in Hobbes, with Stéphanie Martens

The Social Contract Research PodcastBy Social Contract Research NetworkMay 08, 2024