Could "The Cleveland Model" or the "Mondragon model" work within New South Wales? : exploring the possibilities of distributist political-economies in New South Wales

Abstract

This paper explores the possibilities of the political-economy theory, distributism, both as a form of analysis and as a practical source of cooperative economy ideas. Regarding analysis, in this paper distributist thought will be used to analyse the currently hegemonic political-economy theory, globalised neoliberalism, and offer that the historical critique of liberal derived economic theories which reference their internal priority disorders, is still pertinent and valid. The paper will then explicate the underpinning anthropocentric concepts of distributism - the person, the common good, the good life, subsidiarity, and familial and community sources of authority - and how these can help manifest technologically dynamic, participatory, egalitarian, stable, sustainable, localised political-economies. To demonstrate this, the integrated and coordinated cooperative economies of Mondragon Corporacion Cooperativa (MCC) and The Cleveland Model (TCM) will be analysed and contextualised, and the critiques of both models discussed. Furthermore, the debates regarding distributism and cooperative economies more generally will be explicated, so too the apparent strengths and failings of the Australian cooperative political-economy terrain. Finally, it will be suggested that due to its already distributist nature, the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney appeared to be a pertinent research direction for deeper explorations into the applicability of distributist economies in New South Wales.

Date of Award	2017
Original language	English