How (Not) to Form a Progressive Alliance: Lessons from the History of Left Cooperation

Britain’s political parties can be divided into two blocs: a ‘progressive bloc’ of parties on the left/centre‐left, and a ‘reactionary bloc’ of those on the right/centre‐right. In three of the last four general elections, the progressive bloc won an appreciably larger share of the popular vote than its reactionary rival. Yet its greater internal fragmentation has been repeatedly punished under first past the post, leading to what is now over a decade of Conservative‐led governments. This has prompted growing pressure to form a ‘progressive alliance’ between Labour, Liberal Democrats, Greens, and their Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish nationalist competitors. This article sheds a historical and international light on these demands, examining the difficulties other similar efforts at progressive cooperation have faced across the world. It considers how progressive alliances have previously sought to overcome geographical, ideological, and social divides between their constituent members, and draws some salutary lessons for British progressives today.     

马克思主义人学思想的初步形成——从博士论文到《1844年经济学哲学手稿》

马克思主义哲学是关于现实的人及其历史发展的科学,从博士论文到《1844年经济学哲学手稿》标志着马克思主义人学思想的初步形成。马克思实现了对黑格尔的思辨的人的超越,通过对劳动和异化劳动的深刻分析,揭示了人的自由、解放和全面发展问题,为科学的人本主义历史观的创立奠定了基础。     

Opportunities to enhance relational wellbeing through the National Disability Insurance Scheme: Implications from research on relationships and a content analysis of NDIS documentation

Interpersonal relationships are critically important to ensuring that people with disability can access the benefits of individual funding models such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The NDIS aims to enhance participants’ self‐determination of supports and social and economic participation, but the emerging evidence indicates that achieving these policy outcomes requires stronger recognition of participants’ relational context, even in a system focused on individual choice and control. This paper reports on a content analysis of the NDIS Act, NDIS Rules, Operational Guidelines, and Price Guide to examine the extent to which the scheme's conceptual foundations and funded supports in individual plans enable it to support relationships. Implications are drawn from this analysis and theory and evidence about the importance of relationships for disability policy and practice. The paper outlines three areas where the approach of the NDIS to relationships is limited and can be improved: first, by conceptualizing relationships as relationships rather than simply sources of informal support; second, through provisions to actively support relationships; and third, by considering the relational appropriateness of support provided by family, carers, and friends. It concludes with suggestions for how relational considerations can be enhanced, including implications for government in administering the scheme.