DECOLONISATION IS NOT AN ECONOMIC POLICY
The language of decolonisation – with its emphasis on returning land, dismantling colonial structures, and rejecting Western capitalism has never been louder or more confident of its legitimacy. But what if the framework itself is part of the problem?
What does ‘decolonisation’ demand of us when the structures we’re trying to dismantle are the very ones keeping us alive? Capitalism and colonialism were never separate projects: one provided the land, bodies and resources, the other dictated the rules and the ledger.
Today decolonisation is invoked in universities, boardrooms, and government policy. Could capitalism, for all its brutality, remain the only proven engine of economic liberation? Does decolonisation, as a political project, risk leaving the people it claims to serve exactly where they are – righteous, and poor?
Duane Fraser
Duane Fraser is a Wulgurukaba and Bidjara man, raised between Tennant Creek and Magnetic Island. His work is rooted in Country and the Great Barrier Reef, grounded in one conviction: Country and People are one, and Traditional Owners must hold the power to safeguard their heritage and culture. He has held senior statutory office in National Enviro Regulation and Indigenous policy. Representing those interests across 10 countries. He currently serves as CEO of the Council of First Nations and Co-Chair of the ReefTO Taskforce. When mob stand shoulder to shoulder, organise, and prosecute our priorities collectively, we speak from a position of power, not permission.
Celeste Liddle
Celeste is an Arrernte woman, a writer and social commentator, a trade union official, and a creative. Over nearly two decades, her writings have appeared in multiple outlets – Australia and abroad.
Glenn Loury [USA]
Glenn C. Loury is Merton P. Stoltz Professor of the Social Sciences, Emeritus, at Brown University. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Economics Association and a Member of the American Philosophical Society. He has published scholarly and public intellectual articles on racial inequality in the US. His most recent book, Self-Censorship (2025), expands upon his ideas on political correctness from the 1990s. He is the host of The Glenn Show, a widely viewed podcast, and has also written an acclaimed memoir, Late Admissions: Confessions of a Black Conservative.
We acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation - the custodians of the country on which we meet - and acknowledge their Elders, past and present.
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