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Robert Menzies' Forgotten People and the meaning of 1992.

Authors :
Nolan, Sybil
Source :
History Australia; Sep2023, Vol. 20 Issue 3, p417-434, 18p
Publication Year :
2023

Abstract

This article investigates the reception of Judith Brett's landmark study, Robert Menzies' Forgotten People, on its publication in 1992, a moment when many Australians living under neoliberal economic reform and recession were rethinking what it meant to be middle class. Brett argued that Menzies thought it meant individuals living the best lives they could, lives defined by independence and the possession of superior moral qualities. Her account resonated with contemporary Australian experience and remains highly influential. Yet within political history, reviews were mixed as traditionalists resisted the psychoanalytic theory Brett employed to understand Menzies' public language. Her strategic defence of her interdisciplinary approach has ultimately helped to keep the idea of moral liberalism alive in political discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
14490854
Volume :
20
Issue :
3
Database :
Supplemental Index
Journal :
History Australia
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
170717854
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1080/14490854.2023.2208620