International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food
Published by Michigan State University
Official publication of the Research Committee on Sociology of Agriculture and Food (RC-40)
of the International Sociological Association (ISA)
Editors: Raymond Jussaume, Claire Marris and Katerina Psarikidou
Frequency: 3 issues per year
ISSN: 0798-1759
Volume 13 Issue 2 (2005)
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Author: Bill Pritchard
Affiliation: School of Geosciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Abstract PDF
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Australia is the world’s leading advocate for neoliberal agriculture, and dominant opinion in the Australian Government interprets the adoption of neoliberalism as a triumph of rational ‘national interest’ considerations in policy. This is the second of a two-part critical review of how these policy frameworks have been implemented and maintained (the first part of the review is published in the previous issue of IJSAF - Vol. 13(1), July 2005). In this article, attention is focused on the legitimising discourses used to justify and defend these policies. It concludes that a culture of political correctness has emerged in Australian agricultural policy discourse, in which the benefits from neoliberal outcomes are systemically exaggerated, but other implications are silenced. The insights presented here have international significance, given the leadership role being played by the Australian Government in advancing a new, market-oriented model for the political relationship between food, agriculture and society.