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Wendy Bacon - The Future of the Left
SUMMARY:
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I’m excited to share this candid talk from Wendy Bacon at the UTS Festival of Journalism — a personal, thoughtful meditation on the future of the left. Wendy admits we can’t predict the future but insists the future is made by what we do now, informed by our understanding of the past. She traces her own route from student activism at Melbourne University to moving to Sydney in 1967 and encountering a distinctive strand of left politics that rejected Leninism and embraced permanent protest and freedom-in-action. Wendy reflects on enduring tensions within left movements, the value of standing firm in the present, and the need to learn from past struggles even as we face huge challenges — climate change, financial instability and the limits of capitalist systems. Warm, incisive and at times wry, this talk is both a memoir and a rallying call: stay engaged, act boldly in the present, and keep the spirit of critique and solidarity alive. A must-watch for activists, journalists and anyone interested in progressive politics in Australia.
RUMBLE DESCRIPTION:
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Wendy Bacon speaks from the heart in this address recorded at the Festival of Journalism at the University of Technology Sydney. Honest, warm and sharp, she opens with the simple truth that we can’t predict the future — but we do shape it by how we act now, guided by what we’ve learned from the past. Wendy walks us through her own political journey: student activism at Melbourne University, arriving in Sydney in 1967 and discovering a strand of left organising that rejected Leninist centralism and practised what she describes as ‘permanent protest’ — the idea of acting freely in the present to create the future.
She reflects on the recurring debates inside the left, the importance of holding on to principles while adapting tactics, and the ongoing need for critique and solidarity. Wendy is candid about her own pessimism at times — the climate crisis, financial instability and the pressures of late capitalism — but her message circles back to action: stand up now, act where you can, learn from history and refuse political fatalism.
If you’re interested in activism, journalism, political history or simply want a clear-headed reflection on what the left might do next, this talk is for you. Join the conversation below — tell us what you think about the tensions Wendy raises, which lessons from the past matter most to you, and how we should act in the present. Like, share and subscribe for more talks from the Festival of Journalism. Full credits to Wendy Bacon and UTS.
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