Since the 1980s Australian public policy has been perceived as being in crisis. Many argue that consolidating the market imperative in economic and social policy is the solution. Here, a leading group of writers challenge this view, calling for reassertion of a "mixed" rather than a "market" economy, and for reaffirmation of the egalitarianism that has characterized past Australian social policy. Asking whether economic and social policy can be reintegrated in a shared vision, this groundbreaking book argues the case for reinventing government rather than marginalizing it.