Should the Aboriginal people embrace capitalism?

A week or so ago the head of the Federal Government's Indigenous business advisory group blamed a failure to embrace capitalism for Aboriginal social problems. Cliff argues that capitalism is not a response. On the contrary, he argues, we can learn from their culture of the common good. In a separate essay, Tom Scott, challenges the arguments advanced by Cliff.

Joseph Elu, Chair Indigenous Business Australia [Photo: www.tsra.gov.au]

Indigenous Business Australia is hosting a conference in Sydney focusing on creating wealth and long-term prosperity for Aboriginal people. Chairman Joseph Elu says he wants remote mining companies and other businesses to employ more Indigenous people. But Mr Elu, who is a Torres Strait leader, says any section of society that rejects capitalism will be marginalised. "The social problems are there because people are not embracing what Australia is," he said. "It is a capitalist democracy, so if you have a section of the community, no matter what their colour, race or creed is, who are not part of that philosophy of capitalism, of course they're going to have social problems." [ Source: ABC News].

Wow. But as St Paul wouldn't say, what a load of rubbish.

Capitalistic Aborigines? Met one yet? They do not even believe in land ownership. Sure, they can successfully run motels, farms, the occasional cattle station after people like Vesty's are removed.

If Aborigines were potential capitalists they would not be doing priceless paintings on shearing shed doors (later removed to art galleries) or doing dot paintings in white desert sands for a dance, or spending day and night pondering mysteries of The Dreaming.

If capital gain and the advance of the individual was so important there would not be provisions in the Law for capital offences for endangering the common good.

The common good. Sound like Capitalism? I do not think so.

	Brian Coyne (aka Tom Scott) and Cliff Baxter (r). Read Tom's counter arguments to Cliff's HERE.

When I give my friend Mark Trounce, the non-Aboriginal brilliant cartoonist for one of my unpublished books (are you out there Mr Publisher?) who did the TV animations for The Dreaming series for ABC Australia a few dollars for his efforts, what does he do? Invest it? No like all good men he gives it to the missus.

What does his Aboriginal missus do? Of course, she gives out the money to all who need a quid.

They hire a car and go all the way to Orange to visit a sick relation.

Is this not contrary to all capitalistic principles? If you got it, you HANG ON TO IT.

Perhaps this is what the Australian Prime Minister John Howard, and his sidekicks mean when they say that our indigenous people have brought a lot on themselves.

They have made the wrong choices, he says.

Like not inventing gunpowder rather than the world's best example of aerodynamics, the food-proving boomerang, or concentrating on common good and theology instead of capital gains?

Convincing Aboriginal people of the value of Capitalism is a job too hard for anyone.

The alternative, discovering why people think of common welfare, and the environment, is much more attractive.

I have been exposed to the Knowledge, which makes me as a white fella reluctant to say much.

Let me say, however, that in Aboriginal thought we live in the present. What is, always was.

Everything is interconnected: you, me, that bird, that place, that mob.

We come from the land, we shall return to it.

No answer can be found from running around saying, for everyone's sake, be a Capitalist!

It is interesting that the idea has come the lovely and gutsy Torres Straits Mob.

There they stake out their land, and heaven help those who invade.

This is not the case in mainland Aboriginal people; there you have to ask permission to cross another's land. Not because of land ownership, but because of respect for spiritual matters.

There is a national blindness about the land of Australia and its people, even by visionaries like Patrick White, whose hero Voss wants to make himself a sacrifice in the Great Unknown.

This is easy to understand when we realize that we have based our thinking on the colonial diaries which are embarrassing in their ignorance.

Please write to me and I'll do what I can to direct you to sources.

Aboriginal Studies at the University of Technology, Sydney is a good starting point.

Go on, you always wanted to do that degree. All you needed was a push. Now the kids are gone, there's no excuse.

Start with the Wiradjuri people – what a lot of showmen and warriors they were and are.

After fighting a war against the invader they made the peace at Parramatta.

Later their elders decided to abandon the traditional language and learn English.

TV stars are in their ranks.

Now, guess what? They have decided to re-learn their language. It does not contain the word Capital.

Links:
Tom Scott's argument
ABC News Report on Joseph Elu's arguments
Indigenous Business Australia Conference
Indigenous Business Australia website

What are your thoughts on this commentary? Have you read Tom Scott's counter arguments HERE? What position do you personally take on these issues?

Cliff Baxter can be contacted at:
Cliff Baxter <cliffbaxter@catholica.com.au>

©2006 Clifford Baxter

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