Upon Identity: Identity Politics Beyond The Australian 'Voice' Referendum of 2023

The conclusive failure of Australia's 2023 'Voice To Parliament' Referendum has been called Australia's very own Brexit moment, complete with charges such as racism and voter ignorance, being thrust upon the Australian electorate. In all of the column inches and television play, before and after, the age of identity politics has rarely ever been footnoted. Yet, we know what Brexit was about. We know what Trumpism is about in the United States. All around the Western world, we are becoming more and more aware about how things are different now, upon identity.

The conclusion of this book is that a referendum proposition, which had negligible prospects of success, was put to the Australian people because those responsible for the exercise displayed little understanding and regard for the difference between universal democracy, the principles of the Australian Constitution and identity politics.

Upon Identity is a brief exploration of the Australian experience. It is also a broader journey about 'How We Got Here In The West'. Drawing upon a rich array of social and economic thinkers, I demonstrate that identity politics, being less than 20 years old, marks a partial end to the enlightenment project in the West, as authorities in the West increasingly implement non-enlightenment initiatives and grapple with alternative forms of governance, away from principles such as democracy and merit.

Ultimately, I demonstrate that 2023 was not a good year in Australia and places such as the United States, for 'laboratory science' to prove that identity politics is a viable amendment to the foundations on which countries such as Australia and the United States sit. Rather than being simple supplements to the foundations of democracies in Australia and the West, the challenge posed by identity politics goes to the very heart of constructing civil society and why we have governments.