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- Subject Name : Political Sciences
Political Philosophy and Theory
It is difficult to define a concept as multifaceted as politics. Politics involves values, ideologies and other concepts concerning the State. There are various aspects of politics, such as Liberalism, Conservatism, Marxism. By Liberalism we mean ideologies formulated around liberty, consent of the Government and equality before the law. Conservatism is more of a traditionalist approach which opposes changes or innovation. Social democracy involves a balance between market and States and is not in favour of complete abolition of Capitalism, unlike Marxism which believes that Capitalism is the source of exploitation, favouring common ownership of wealth.
To understand how politics affects the lockdown situation in Victoria, looking into the political backdrop is necessary. The Australian political system is heavily influenced by the British, on account of their colonial history. Australia is a democracy which operates as a two-party system – the Australian Labour Party and the Liberal/National Coalition. This means the vote of the people determines which party rules, unlike an authoritarian set up where the people do not have a say. Presently, Victoria is ruled by the Labour Party, which is a social-democratic party and is governed by the head, known as the Premier of Victoria. The sudden surge in the COVID cases in Victoria has been tough to contain. As a result, there were strict restrictions imposed.
Since the two parties have been rivals, the fact that Victoria is not keeping up with the rest of the country is straining their relationship even further. The economy has taken a severe hit with an increase in the unemployment rates and all of this will negatively impact the economy of Australia in general. There is no mention of how poorly this will affect the indigenous communities, which again, have been side-lined due to deep rooted Colonialism in the system. The opposition and the media, have gone to the extent of calling the Premiere a “dictator” with a “disturbing streak of authoritarianism”. However, the Premiere does not mind these criticisms as long as the pandemic is controlled and Victoria becomes stable again. Some people support his move, making him popular, while others seem fed up with the restrictions and are calling his governance incompetent. Now, Victoria is planning to ease its restrictions, following a 4-step method. Whether things will improve for Victoria as well as its Premier is something we will have to watch out for.
References for Intersectionality and The Politics of Policy
Bassel, L., & Emejulu, A. (2010). Struggles for Institutional Space in France and the United Kingdom: Intersectionality and the Politics of Policy. Politics & Gender, 6(04), 517–544. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1743923x10000358
Maddison, S., & Strakosch, E. (2019). Whose politics and which science? Rethinking the discipline in the context of Australian settler colonial relationships. Australian Journal of Political Science, 54(3), 372–377. https://doi.org/10.1080/10361146.2019.1625860
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