Recent Books & Publications

Economic Rationalism in Canberra:
A Nation Building State Changes its Mind

Cambridge University Press, 1991
ISBN 0-521-33661-9

Ranked by the Australian Sociological Association as one of the ten most influential books in 40 years of Australian Sociology.

"A celebrated analysis of how economic rationalism came to dominate policy making in Canberra." - The Age

"Michael Pusey penetrates the club of free market bureaucrats to reveal the mind, manner and machination of Canberra's top men. He shows us something quite simple and powerful: that the modern doctrine of economic rationalism has been the increasingly dominant intellectual force shaping these men, their view of the world and the transformation of the Australian state they presided over during the 1980's." - Australian Society

"Australians should read and ponder what deserves to be the political book of the decade. Nobody else - friend or enemy of the Hawk government - has related the shift in its policies to our national life and history in so profound a way." - Hugh Stretton

This is an important and challenging book, not the least for provoking a long overdue debate." - Barry Jones

"Michael Pusey's Economic Rationalism in Canberra must rank as the most important political intervention against the New Right carried out by an academic in recent years. Pusey became the critical public intellectual of 1991." - Arena


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Jürgen Habermas: Key Sociologists

ISBN 0-7458-0038-6

Habermas is one of the most influential of contemporary sociological thinkers, yet his work remains difficult and relatively inaccessible. in this admirably lucid and authoritative introduction to his work, Michael Pusey provides a direct, critical and accessible account which makes it an exceptionally valuable guide written for the student reader.

Habermas has provided important sociological 'reconstructions' of Max and Weber, and addressed three central issues of social science - the evolution of culture and society, the Weberian theory of rationalisation, and the relationship of meaning and scientific method. His theoretical insights into 'lifeworld', constitutes major advances in sociological thought.

The book is unusually accessible because it explains and interprets Habermas, so that he may speak for himself to a non-German audience, providing criticism so as to make his work and its intentions easier to grasp.

This book is also avaliable in Japanese
Iwanami Shoten, Publishers, Tokyo, 1993
ISBN4-00-002342-X

Chapters and Articles (selected)

- ‘Have Australians Embraced Economic Reform?’ Michael Pusey and Nick Turnbull, in (eds.) Shaun Wilson, Gabrielle Maegher et al, Australian Social Attitudes. The First Report, UNSW Press, 2005

- 'Class and 'Media Influence' in Australia' with Paul Jones, in D.Heider (ed.) News and Class, Lanham, Maryland, Rowan & Littlefield (forthcoming 2004)

- ' Econo Rot', The Best Australian Essays 2003, Black Inc, pp. 132-144

- 'Eating Yourself. The Troubling Experience of Economic Reform' Australian Financial Review, pp6-7, May 9, 2003
Articles

- 'Eating Yourself. The Troubling Experience of Economic Reform' Australian Financial Review, pp.6-7, May 9, 2003

- "An Australian Story: The Troubling Experience of Economic Reform" Papers on Parliament, (ISSN 1031-976X) No 40, December 2003, Department of the Senate, Parliament House, Canberra, pp. 95-108

- 'Globalization and the Impacts of Economic Rationalism on Quality of Life in Advanced Societies', Chapter 9, in Managing the Global: Globalization, Employment and Quality of Life, ed Donald Lamberton, IB Tauris London & N. Y. 2002.

- 'The Impact of Economic Restructuring on Women and Families', AQ (Australian Quarterly), Vol 70, No 4, July-August, 1998, pp. 18-27.

- 'Economic Rationalism, Human Rights and Civil Society', in Australian Journal of Human Rights, Vol 4. No.2, June, 1998, "pp. 131-153.

- "Between Economic Dissolution and the 'Return of the Social'", Chapter 2, in, Real Civil Societies: The Dilemmas of Institutionalization, ed. Jeffrey C. Alexander, Sage Publications, 1998

- 'Economic Rationalism' International Encyclopedia of Public Policy and Administration, ed. Jay Shafritz, New York, Westview Press/Henry Holt and Co, 1998, vol 2, (ISBN 0813399742), pp. 734-736

- 'Economic Rationalism and the Contest for Civil Society', Thesis Eleven, MIT Mass, No. 44, 1996, pp 69-87.

- 'The Impact of Economic Ideas on Public Policy in Australia' chapter IV: iii, in, Economics as a Social Science, eds. G. Argyrous and F Stilwell, Pluto Press, 1996, pp. 228-231.

- 'Our Top Public Servants Under Hawke' in The Australian Political System, eds. David W Lovell, Ian McAllister, Willam Maley & Chandran Kukathas, Longman Cheshire, Melbourne, 1995, pp 352-362

- "Reflections on the Impact of Economic Rationalism in Canberra", (symposium), Australian and New Zealand Journal of Sociology, Vol 29, No.3, Nov 1993, pp. 379-386.

- "Economic Rationalism in the Dry Continent: An Underview'", Discussion paper, Monash University, Institute of Ethics and Public Policy, Series, 1993.

- Chapter 2, 'Reclaiming the Middle Ground... From 'New Right' Economic Rationalism', in Economic Rationalism: Dead-end or way forward?, (eds.) Stephen.King and Peter Lloyd, Melbourne, Allen and Unwin, 1993, pp. 12-28

- "The Impact of Economic Ideas on Public Policy in Canberra", Economic Papers, Vol. 9, No. 4, December 1990, pp. 80-91.

- "Our Top Canberra Public Servants Under Hawke", Australian Quarterly, Autumn 1988, vol. 60, No.1.pp.109-123.