Quarterly Essay 82: Exit Strategy - Politics After the Pandemic

Australia faces recession. In the wake of the pandemic, will we see a new politics of care and fear, of social security and concern for the future?

In this original essay, George Megalogenis explains what we know about recessions and unemployment and how governments should respond. He explores the gender and generational aspects of job losses, and the fate of higher education - what happened to the clever country? He considers the state of the federation and, as Australia is forced to make its own luck, asks: what future for a divided nation?