Labor can't appear to ignore economic wellbeing over ideological values | David Hetherington

Progressive politics must find ways to build areas of consensus while keeping an eye on hip pocket issues

Bob Hawke, a political superstar, was a social democrat. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, an up-and-coming star today, is a democratic socialist. While the vernacular has changed, the focus remains on the "social" part of the equation rather than the "democratic" one. The social bias draws support and condemnation in equal measure.

Yet perhaps the left misses a trick when it allows the democratic aspect to be downplayed. Almost all in the broader left accept that you can't implement a social program if you can't build a democratic mandate for it.