Humphrey McQueen
Humphrey McQueen | |
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Born | Georg Lukacs | 26 June 1942
Academic work | |
Institutions | Australian National University |
Main interests | Australian history, capitalism, slavery |
Notable works | A New Britannia (1970), Social Sketches of Australia (1978) |
Website | https://www.surplusvalue.org.au/index.html |
Humphrey Dennis McQueen (born 26 June 1942) is an Australian public intellectual. Over the course of his career he has written histories, biographies and cultural criticism. McQueen was the pivotal figure in the development of the Australian
Early life
McQueen was born in Brisbane to a working-class family that was active in the Australian Labor Party.[5] His father was Dinny "Horse" McQueen (1899-1971), a tanner and assistant bookmaker who knew John Wren. Dinny was a long-time member of the Leather and Allied Trades Union who, along with his working wife and McQueen's mother, was recruited to the ALP in the 1950s by a Grouper (although his politics was communistic).[7] McQueen was educated at Marist College Ashgrove and was a contemporary of future PNG prime minister Julius Chan.[8] He joined the ALP at the age of fifteen, and was instrumental in establishing the Queensland Young Labor organisation and was editor of its newsletter.[5] In 1961, McQueen served as the ALP campaign organiser for the seat of Ryan.[9]
Early career
Before academia
McQueen's first job was as a clerk, third division, at the Department of Social Services in 1960.[10] He left the Commonwealth Public Service soon afterwards to undertake a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Queensland where he graduated with Honours degree in 1965.[1] The 'burly, goatee bearded...freethinker' was suspended from the university in 1962 when he reproduced the opinions of Peter Kenny, an Australian Broadcasting Corporation researcher, in 1962.[11] Kenny had argued that the existence of a god was debatable and that homosexuality should be celebrated as much as heterosexuality.[12] The panel appointed to judge the 'bearded' McQueen found him guilty but declined to punish him.[13]
McQueen was an active participant in the anti-Vietnam War movement in Australia, From 1966 to 1969 he was employed as a teacher at Glen Waverley High in Victoria.
Academia
McQueen's political activism in the 1960s led him to join academia in 1970. His first Marxist critique was a paper in 1967, Which Party for Socialists?, arguing against the ALP. His first academic article came in 1968 when the political economist Bruce McFarlane invited McQueen to write an article in Labour History.
In 1970, he moved to
McQueen's early academic writing was intent on dispelling the approaches to labour history generated by the Australian Old Left,
Receptions of the book were mixed. Terry Irving in reviewing A New Britannia, highlighted the work's theoretical legacy, but also the need to produce a more developed theoretical engagement. He stated that A New Britannia "Will provoke angry discussion, but I hope it will also provoke the new left to develop the methodology necessary to write a new history".
In 1971, McQueen wrote a review against Christopher Hitchens calling his work on Marx 'acceptable as a fourth year honours essay but it would not be remarkable even as that' and 'it would be useful for a student with no more than an hour to prepare for a tutorial on the subject.'[38] McQueen said of his teaching style, 'History is a study of the development of society — the society as a whole ... the bourgeoisie have isolated and categorized scholarship in such a way as to eliminate the study of the interaction of all social factors, environment, politics and economics... my course is designed to restore histor-y to a study of society as a whole.'[39]
McQueen called for a boycott of the 1972 election because the ALP under Gough Whitlam would be 'even more imperialist in its policy towards South East Asia.'[40] Mungo McCallum said McQueen was 'a middle-class academic putting forward views, on the ideal society but without suggesting realistic proposals to attain it.' McQueen was charged along with 8 undergraduates for encouraging people to defy the draft, but charges was later dropped.[41] Along with his long-time friend, Bruce McFarlane and others, he contributed to a five-part series on Marx aired by ABC Radio Two in 1973 which became a book.[42]
Independent career
By 1978, McQueen had left ANU and had shifted away from his earlier work as he became increasingly influenced by Maoism.[43] This led McQueen to depart from A New Britannia and the Gramscian New Left, a process he described in the 2004 edition. McQueen believed in a fusion between the philosophical and economic Marx, which was a midway between the two competing interpretations of Marxism that had preoccupied radicals since the 1920s.[44] McQueen's fourth book was Social Sketches of Australia (1978), a social history of Australia since the late nineteenth century. Continuing on from early work, Social Sketches was a correction to the secondary source focus of A New Britannia, focusing instead on primary sources and the perspectives of minorities.[45]
McQueen's work since the 1970s has been varied, ranging from historiographical works to art history and the importance of British slavery to the development of capitalism.
Personal life
McQueen was married to Judy McQueen.
Bibliography
Part of a series on |
Socialism in Australia |
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Year | Title | Publisher |
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1970 |
A New Britannia: An Argument Concerning the Social Origins of Australian Radicalism, 1971 ISBN 0-7022-3439-7 . |
Penguin |
1974 |
Aborigines, Race and Racism, Penguin, 1974, 1976 ISBN 0-14-080774-8 |
Penguin |
1977 |
Australia's Media Monopolies, Widescope, 1977, 1978,1981 ISBN 0-86932-017-3 |
Widescope |
1978 |
Social Sketches of Australia: 1888-1975 Penguin, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1986 ISBN 0-14-004435-3 |
Penguin |
1979 |
The Black Swan of Trespass: The Emergence of Modernist Painting in Australia to 1944, APCOL, 1979 ISBN 0-909188-12-2 |
APCOL |
1983 |
Gone Tomorrow: Australia into the 1980s, Angus and Roberson, 1983 ISBN 0-207-14610-1 |
Angus and Roberson |
1987 |
Windows onto Worlds, Report of the Committee to Review Australian Studies in Tertiary Education, Co-authored with ISBN 0-642-11866-3 |
AGPS |
1988 |
Suburbs of the Sacred, Transforming Australian Beliefs and Values, Penguin, 1988, 269pp. ISBN 0-14-010457-7 |
Penguin |
1989 |
Gallipoli to Petrov: Arguing with Australian History, Allen & Unwin,1989 ISBN 0-86861-207-3 (paperback) |
Allen & Unwin |
1991 |
Social Sketches of Australia: 1888-1988, Penguin, 1991 ISBN 0-14-012232-X |
Penguin |
1992 |
Japan to the Rescue, Australian Security Around the Indonesian Archipelago during the American Century, Heinemann, 1992 ISBN 0-85561-402-1 |
Heinemann |
1992 |
Tokyo World, An Australian Diary, Heinemann, 1992 ISBN 0-85561-412-9 |
Heinemann |
1996 |
Tom Roberts, Macmillan, 1996 ISBN 0-7329-0835-3 |
Macmillan Publishers |
1997 |
Suspect History: Manning Clark and the Future of Australian History, Wakefield, 1997 ISBN 1-86254-410-7 |
Wakefield |
1998 |
Temper Democratic: How Exceptional is Australia?, Wakefield 1998 ISBN 1-86254-466-2 |
Wakefield |
2001 |
The Essence of Capitalism, The Origins of our Future, Sceptre, 2001 ISBN 1-55164-220-4 |
Black Rose Books
|
2004 |
Social Sketches of Australia: 1888 to 2001, University of Queensland Press, 2004, ISBN 0-7022-3440-0 |
University of Queensland Press |
2009 |
Framework of Flesh: Builders' Labourers Battle for Health and Safety, Ginninderra Press, 2009, ISBN 978-1-74027-545-3 |
Ginninderra Press |
2010 |
Men of Flowers, with Peter Lyssiotis and Wayne Stock, Masterthief, 2010, ISBN[46] | Fryer Folios |
2011 |
We Built This Country: Builders' Labourers and Their Unions, 1787 to the Future, Ginninderra Press, 2011 ISBN 978-1-74027-697-9 |
Ginninderra Press |
McQueen contributed a chapter entitled "Born free: wage-slaves and chattel-slaves" to Foundational Fictions in South Australian History (2018).[47]
References
- ^ a b c "abiography". Archived from the original on 17 February 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
- ^ Williams-Brooks, Llewellyn (2016). "Radical Theories of Capitalism in Australia", Honours Thesis, University of Sydney, viewed 20 April 2017,[1]
- ^ a b McQueen, H 1970/2004, A New Britannia, University of Queensland Press, Brisbane, p.31
- ^ a b c d Bongiorno, F 2008, "Two Radical Legends: Russel Ward, Humphrey McQueen and the New Left Challenge in Australian Historiography", Journal of Australian Colonial History, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 201–222.
- ^ a b c Gould, Bob (2004) 'The Life and Work of Humphrey McQueen: Never Trust Tories Bearing Gifts', Ozleft, viewed 20 April 2017
- ^ Men of Flowers, with Peter Lyssiotis and Wayne Stock, Masterthief, 2010,
- ^ Humphrey McQueen, "The Making of an Australian Working Man Dinny McQueen 1899-1971", The Queensland Journal of Labour History, Issue: 34, March 2022, pp. 34-44.
- ^ Marist College Ashgrove, Notable Ashgrovians, https://ashgroveoldboys.com.au/notable-ashgrovians/
- ^ Marks, Russell Leask (2011), Rejection, redemption, ambivalence : the New Left and Australian nationalism, La Trobe University, archived from the original on 28 February 2018, retrieved 28 February 2018
- ^ Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, 10 March 1960, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/241002458?searchTerm=humphrey%20mcqueen
- ^ The Canberra Times, 26 July 1962, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/131728399?searchTerm=humphrey%20mcqueen
- ^ Thurunka, 29 March 1962, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/230410260?searchTerm=peter%20kenny%20morals%20abc
- ^ The Canberra Times, 02 August, 1962, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/131729240?searchTerm=humphrey%20mcqueen
- ^ "Australia and the Vietnam War - Conscription - Moratoriums and Opposition". Archived from the original on 21 February 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
- ^ Pascoe, R 1979, The Manufacture of Australian History, Oxford University Press, Oxford
- ^ Tribune, 05 July, 1967, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/237358252?searchTerm=humphrey%20mcqueen
- ^ Tribune, 01 November, 1967, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/237358524?searchTerm=humphrey%20mcqueen
- ^ McQueen, Humphrey 1984, Gallipoli to Petrov, Allen & Unwin, North Sydney
- ^ McQueen, H 1968, "Convicts and Rebels", Labour History, Vol. 15, pp. 3–30.
- ^ Martin, A W 1962/2007, The Whig View of Australian History: And Other Essays, Melbourne University Publishing, Melbourne.
- ^ Connell, R W 1974, "Images of Australia", in D E Edgar (ed.) Social Change in Australia: Readings in Sociology, Cheshire Books, Sydney.
- ^ a b c Williams-Brooks, Llewellyn (2016). "Radical Theories of Capitalism in Australia", Honours Thesis, University of Sydney, viewed 20 April 2017, [2]
- ^ Woroni, 23 June 1970, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/140092088?searchTerm=humphrey%20mcqueen
- ^ Fitzpatrick, B 1944, A Short History of the Australian Labor Movement, Macmillan, Melbourne.
- ^ Turner, I 1965, Industrial Labour and Politics: The Labour Movement in Eastern Australia: 1900–1921, Australian National University, Canberra.
- ^ Ward, R 1958, The Australian Legend, Oxford University Press, Oxford
- ^ Marks, R.L., 2011, Rejection, Redemption, Ambivalence: the New Left and Australian Nationalism (Doctoral Dissertation), La Trobe University
- ^ Lenin, V I 1899/1964, The Development of Capitalism in Russia, Progress Publishers, Moscow.
- ^ Anderson, P 1964, "The Origins of the Present Crisis", New Left Review, Vol. 23, viewed 16 September 2016, "Perry Anderson: Origins of the Present Crisis. New Left Review I/23, January-February 1964". Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2017..
- ^ Nairn, T 1964, "The Nature of the Labour Party", New Left Review, Vol. 27, No. 38, viewed 29 September 2016, "Tom Nairn: The Nature of the Labour Party (Part I). New Left Review I/27, September-October 1964". Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2017..
- ^ Irving, T 1970, "Head-Standing", Bulletin, 12 Dec, pp. 55–57
- ^ Irving, T & Connell, R 1979, Class Structure in Australian History, Longman Cheshire, Melbourne.
- ^ Williams-Brooks, Llewellyn (2016). "Radical Theories of Capitalism in Australia", Honours Thesis, University of Sydney, viewed 20 April 2017
- ^ Papua New Guinea Post-Courier, 18 December 1970, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/250250200?searchTerm=humphrey%20mcqueen
- ^ The Canberra Times, 12 December 1970, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110443365?searchTerm=humphrey%20mcqueen
- ^ Tribune, 16 December 1970, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/237507574?searchTerm=humphrey%20mcqueen
- ^ Tribune, 19 May 1971, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/237868128?searchTerm=humphrey%20mcqueen
- ^ Woroni, 06 September, 1971, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/140092995?searchTerm=humphrey%20mcqueen
- ^ Woroni, 09 March, 1972, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/140093515?searchTerm=humphrey%20mcqueen
- ^ Woroni, 11 October 1972, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/140093417?searchTerm=humphrey%20mcqueen
- ^ Canberra Times, 16 December 1972, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110625865?searchTerm=humphrey%20mcqueen
- ^ Tribune, 16 January 1973, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/236856243?searchTerm=humphrey%20mcqueen
- ^ Bongiorno, "Two Radicals"
- ^ Long, Malcolm 1973, Marx and Beyond, Australian Broadcasting Commission, Sydney.
- ^ Piccini, Jon 2011, “Reading Humphrey McQueen’s A New Britannia in De-colonial Times,” Overland 224, pp. 12-20.
- ^ Doyle, Cassie (July 2013). "Can we imagine? Men of flowers" (PDF). Fryer Folios. 8 (1): 10–11. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
- ^ McQueen, Humphrey. "Born free: wage-slaves and chattel-slaves". Honest History. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
This PDF is a slightly amended version of the author's chapter in Carolyn Collins & Paul Sendziuk (ed), Foundational Fictions in South Australian History, Wakefield Press, Adelaide, 2018, pp. 43-63
PDF
External links
- Website of Humphrey McQueen: Surplus Value
- Radioshow hosted by McQueen: Solidarity Breakfast
- List of McQueen's papers held at the National Library of Australia
- Guardian article by McQueen: healthcare is not a product no matter what neoliberalism has taught us
- Green Left Weekly article: Humphrey McQueen: WikiLeaks and the fight for free speech