State Regulation for a Moral Economy: Peter Macarthy and the Meaning of the Harvester Judgment

Abstract

Peter Macarthy's thesis shows the strong influence of bis superiors, especially N. G. Butlin. In it be attempted to separate 'fact' from theory, raising 'commonsense' questions and finding answers in statistical series. But be believed that the Australian adoption of a centralised wage-fixing system—determined by social need, not market forces—was a step beyond unregulated capitalism towards a bumane civilisation. He demonstrated that the Harvester judgment was tbe culmination ofa long and complex bistorical process. Yet the unusually favourable market conditions that allowed Har vester to become effective rested on the acceptance of exclusive and exploitative economic and social relations, whose examination lay outside the scope of his thesis.