Liberal Tides. "Australian Liberals and the Moral Middle Class: From Alfred Deakin to John Howard" by Judith Brett. [review]

Abstract

This book is dedicated to Judith Brett’s grandparents, ‘none of whom ever voted Labor’, and their grand-children, ‘most of whom do’; and concludes with the observation that ‘the relationship between … emerging social formations and nationally based political parties is not yet clear — or at least not to me’. Brett’s primary aim is to extend her and our understanding of the cultural bases of past and present Liberal Party policy, a project she began in her earlier work, "Menzies’ Forgotten People" (1992).