This second volume of The History of the Democratic Socialist Party and Resistance covers the exciting and turbulent 20-year period that opened with the election of the Whitlam government in 1972. It was a time of change and struggle:
- "Kerr’s coup" sacking the Labor government
- Battles between the Fraser government and unions trying to protect wages against surging inflation
- The ALP’s Prices and Incomes Accord
- The Hawke government’s deregistration of the militant BLF and airline pilots’ union
- The rise of anti-uranium and environmental campaigns
Throughout this period, the late John Percy was a central leader of the Socialist Workers Party as it became a party based in the industrial working class, developed and modified its political understanding and grew to surpass the Communist Party as Australia’s largest socialist organisation.
This is not an academic history, but an insight into the successes and mistakes of twenty years of campaigning for socialism. It will be of value to everyone struggling today.