Alex’s blog about strategy, campaigning, growth, politics and climate (among other things).
-
What if inequality is causing the mental health crisis?
What if wealth inequality and neoliberalism was causing Australia’s mental health crisis through physically altering and damaging our brains? That’s the claim in research by eight academics that argues that inequality, deprivation and isolation are active forces in our society that causes neurological harm. Wealth inequality is a public mental health crisis — it is… Read more
-
Talking about the economy with US voters
If you are telling struggling families that the economy is going well because the GDP or jobs data looks healthy, you have already lost them. That’s the key takeaway from an interesting new report from the right-wing Centre for Campaign Innovation called Voter Vocabulary: The Words Voters Use to Discuss Key Issues. This makes sense… Read more
-
What if “economic growth” is the problem?
Australian political debate remains trapped in a singular and toxic obsession: pushing economic growth higher regardless of the human, social and ecological cost. However, despite enjoying material wealth far beyond subsistence, Australians report skyrocketing rates of stress, burnout, and disillusionment. The ANUpoll data, for example, shows “life satisfaction is lower than during the COVID-19 lockdowns… Read more
-
What if the luxury property value crash is good, actually?
There is a panic in the corporate media about the luxury property value crash in exclusive suburbs like Mosman, Point Piper and Toorak. The investor class, property developers and real estate agents are trying to turn the falling prices into a national economic crisis, while everyday Australians are finally finding room to breathe. What we… Read more
-
What I’m reading (August 2026)
Stories and links that are of interest or relevance to leaders, strategists, campaigners and organisers. Inequality and the economy Global affairs Unions Workers’ rights Data, tech and privacy AI and the future of work Campaigning, communications and social media Society, media, news and culture Climate Change Read more
-
The real cost of Australia’s privatised electricity sector
Australia’s electricity costs are often presented as set by a natural, non-ideological “free market” — where prices respond to supply and demand. You don’t need to be an energy market expert to see the reality however is that this is a completely manufactured illusion. The entire national energy system was designed by the big business… Read more
-
Why are so many people so lonely?
When you look at modern life, it is easy to see loneliness as a purely personal issue. We tend to view it as a matter of individual bad luck, changing social habits, or the breakdown of the traditional family. For many people, those changes are very real. You might see a neighbourhood where people no… Read more
-
Power bills, groceries and rent: What 115+ readers said about cost-of-living
Last month, I asked a group of my newsletter subscribers how the cost-of-living crisis was impacting them and more than 115 people responded. (You can add your voice to the survey here.) Groceries, energy, housing, insurance and healthcare came up constantly — and all of these big increases in cost-of-living are being driven by concentrated… Read more
-
Who is responsible for the mess Australia is in?
When the power to your small business gets cut off, your rent goes up, or your local shop closes, who is actually responsible? Some politicians and media commentators want you to believe it’s the fault of the greedy front-line workers, a recent immigrant or a person on NDIS. However the real culprit is a handful… Read more
-
What I’m reading (July 2026)
Stories and links that are of interest or relevance to leaders, strategists, campaigners and organisers. Inequality and the economy Global affairs Unions Workers’ rights Data, tech and privacy AI and the future of work Campaigning, communications and social media Society, media, news and culture Climate Change Read more
-
Has global poverty reduced?
We are frequently told that global poverty is reducing and developing nations are catching up to the West. However, new research by Jason Hickel and Dylan Sullivan analysing economic data from 1960 to 2023 shows the mainstream narrative is utterly false. In fact, the world has not become more equal. The absolute income gap between… Read more
-
What if the economy is political?
What if the economic pain you are feeling right now is not a mistake, but was designed to keep you indebted, exhausted and miserable? More: https://alexwhite.org/2026/07/what-if-the-economy-is-political/ Read more
-
What is really behind the cost-of-living crisis?
Privatisation is one of the primary drivers of the cost-of-living crisis, impacting housing, water and electricity, roads, telecommunications, and even going to hospital. While the mainstream media and economists want you to think public services and wage increases for everyday workers is driving up inflation, it is really corporate greed from companies that own natural… Read more
-
Is the Reserve Bank to blame for the cost-of-living crisis?
Earlier this week, I responded to an opinion piece in the Australian Financial Review by John Kehoe about the Reserve Bank. In the piece Kehoe says that the RBA shares some of the blame for One Nation’s rise because they didn’t increase interests rates enough to get inflation down. John Kehoe is correct to say… Read more
-
Fighting the cost-of-living crisis
Australians are facing a brutal cost-of-living crisis. Rent, groceries, insurance, and energy is skyrocketing, while real wages are stagnant or have gone backward. Yet, when we turn on the news, mainstream economists and politicians are still telling us we need to “tighten our belts” and cut public services like the NDIS. The Reserve Bank and… Read more
-
What I’m reading (June 2026)
Stories and links that are of interest or relevance to leaders, strategists, campaigners and organisers. Inequality and the economy Global affairs Unions Workers’ rights Data, tech and privacy AI and the future of work Campaigning, communications and social media Society, media, news and culture Climate Change Read more
-
Fifty years of the Wilderness Society
Tonight I went to an event to celebrate The Wilderness Society’s 50th birthday. I heard about how the Wilderness Society was founded from grief and defiance after the failed campaign to defend Lake Pedder in Tasmania. Environmentalists came together after they’d lost the fight to prevent the glacial lake from being flooded. Instead of walking… Read more
-
Feeling disillusioned?
In March 2026, the ABC had a writeup of the McKinnon Foundation’s poll that found that most Australians are thoroughly disillusioned with politics. Apathy toward elected officials was high, with three in four people saying they thought politicians focused on short-term gains and re-election rather than long-term challenges, and felt MPs “mostly” served themselves or… Read more
