Australia is in transition. Saying it is easy. The panic kicks in when we are
compelled to describe what the future might look like.

There is no complacent middle to aim at. We will either catch the next wave of prosperity, or finally
succumb to the Great Recession.

What has gone wrong with our politics? And what does our government need
to do so that Australia is not globalisation's next victim? Balancing Act is a
passionate look at the politics of change and renewal, and a bold call for active
government. George Megalogenis argues that both sides of politics are
clinging to an old model because it tells them a reassuring story of Australian
success. But that model has been exhausted by capitalism's extended crisis
and the end of the mining boom. It is time to redraw the line between market
and state.

This revised edition of Megalogenis's bestselling Quarterly Essay brings the
story up to date through a substantial new essay, and also includes his other
acclaimed Quarterly Essay, Trivial Pursuit- Leadership and the End of the
Reform Era.