Race Mathews

Race Mathews (born 27 March 1935) [ [http://www.capitalownership.org/lib/RaceMathewsCV.htm Curriculum Vitae: Race Mathews ] ] is a Co-operative economist, and former member of Victoria's State Parliament and Australia's Federal Parliament for the Australian Labor Party. He is currently a Senior Research Fellow at Monash University's Faculty of Business and Economics. [ [http://www.australia.coop/race_mathews.htm Dr. Race Mathews ] ] From 1972-1975, Mathews was the Federal Member for Casey, where he served as the Chairman of the House of Representatives Select Committee on Specific Learning Difficulties (during 1974-1975), and the Chairman of the Government Members' Committee on Urban and Regional Development. From 1979 - 1992, Mathews served as the State Member for Oakleigh in the Victorian Legislative Assembly during the Cain Government. In this capacity, Mathews served as the Chairman of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Co-operatives, the Minister for Community Services from 1987-1988, and Minister for Police and Emergency Services and Minister for the Arts 1982-1987. [ [http://www.capitalownership.org/lib/RaceMathewsCV.htm Curriculum Vitae: Race Mathews ] ]

Mathews is the author, co-author, and editor of numerous books on politics and economics. These include "Building the Society of Equals: Worker Co-operatives and the A.L.P.," [Mathews, Race, "Building the Society of Equals: Worker Co-operatives and the A.L.P.," Melbourne : Victorian Fabian Society, 1983.] "Jobs of Our Own," [Mathews, Race, "Jobs of Our Own: Building a Stakeholder Society," Sydney, Pluto Press (Australia), and London, Comerford & Miller, 1999.] "Australia's First Fabians," [ Mathews, Race, "Australia's First Fabians: Middle-Class Radicals, Labour Activists and the Early Labour Movement" Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.] "Whitlam Re-visited: Policy Development, Policies and Outcomes," [ Mathews, Race; Emy, Hugh; and Hughes, Owen; "Whitlam Re-visited: Policy Development, Policies and Outcomes", Sydney: Pluto Press, 1992.] "Labor's Troubled Times," [ Mathews, Race, Burchall, David "Labor's Troubled Times," Sydney: Pluto Press (Australia), 1991.] and "Turning the Tide: Towards a Mutualist Philosophy and Politics for Labor and the Left." [Mathews, Race, "Turning the Tide: Towards a Mutualist Philosophy and Politics for Labor and the Left," Melbourne: Australian Fabian Society and Arena Publications, 2001.]

In the context of Co-operative Economics, Mathews supports Distributism and strongly favours Worker cooperatives as the basis of a left wing economic model.

Controversy

Mathews' Co-operative Individualism, coupled with his strong Fabian Socialist beliefs, has led to some criticism by other academics. For instance, Jocelyn Pixley has attacked Mathews for his (apparent) support of the Cain Government's Co-operative Development Program, on the basis that Beatrice Webb, a founder of the Fabian Society, was a prominent member of the Federalist school of Co-operative economics, which supports Consumers' Co-operatives linked through co-operative wholesale societies, and was a harsh critic of Workers' cooperatives. Pixley writes:

A 'prefigurative' argument, that [Workers] co-ops were 'pioneers of a new exciting territory', a 'testing ground' for socialism... formed the basis of one Labor politician's support [i.e. Mathews] , among others. It is an interesting position for a professed Fabian to hold, given Beatrice Webb's harsh judgement that [Workers'] co-oepratives were associations of small capitalists as fraudulent as any other." [Pixley, Jocelyn, "Citizenship and Employment: investigating Post-Industrial Options", Melbourne: Cambridge University Press, 1993.]

However, in spite of being a Minister in the Cain Government's Chairman of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Co-operatives, and being a supporter of Workers Co-operatives, Mathews was a critic of the Cain Government's Co-operative Development Program, telling one magazine at the time that they were:

"...'in most instances wretchedly managed, chronically under-performing and expressive of the attitude that the world owes their members a living.' He said that we should 'wipe what has already happened in this state in the field of co-operation.' It was 'an historical aberration,' and it 'would have been better if it had never been.'" ["Mathews Attacks Co-operative Program", in “The Co-operator: Victoria’s Journal of Co-operative Affairs”, No. 12, p. 5.]

References