Liam Byrne's Avatar

Liam Byrne

@liamj47.bsky.social

Labor historian. Political biographer. Star Wars prequels admirer. Author of 'Becoming John Curtin and James Scullin'. My substack "Maintain Your Rage" focuses on Australian political history: https://byrnel.substack.com/

393 Followers  |  191 Following  |  330 Posts  |  Joined: 14.09.2023  |  1.8332

Latest posts by liamj47.bsky.social on Bluesky

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Tell me we are in an #AI bubble without saying we are in an AI bubble.

13.01.2026 01:52 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Social Democracy’s Muted Revival What is the place of social democracy in the post-pandemic era, and the economic crisis that has followed in its wake?

Look forward to reading it @redrabbleroz.bsky.social - I wrote this one for PQ a couple of years ago now, already feels very dated! politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/social-...

07.01.2026 21:14 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Book review: A Fair Day's Work Reviewing Sean Scalmer's new history of shorter hour campaigns

byrnel.substack.com/p/book-revie...

07.01.2026 07:06 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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A review of Sean Scalmer's new book "A Fair Day's Work" on my history substack (originally published on Australian Policy and History). Scalmer's book is a substantial contribution to the study of campaigns over working time with lessons and implications for today (link to article in comments)

07.01.2026 07:05 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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The Tailoresses Strike! December 1882 How workers negotiated technological change

byrnel.substack.com/p/the-tailor...

23.12.2025 05:51 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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How have workers shaped technological change through collective action?
In the latest post on my substack I look at the Tailoresses Strike of 1882 as an example of worker agency amid industrial and technological transformation (link in the comments).

23.12.2025 05:50 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

@workingclasshistory.com @sslh.bsky.social @unitedworkers.org.au @profaus.bsky.social @ieua.bsky.social @australianunions.bsky.social @anmffederal.bsky.social

11.12.2025 06:49 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
No Power Greater Buy No Power Greater, A History of Union Action in Australia by Liam Byrne from Booktopia. Get a discounted Paperback from Australia's leading online bookstore.

You can get a copy here: www.booktopia.com.au/no-power-gre...

11.12.2025 06:48 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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This Christmas, why not give your friends, comrades, and loved ones the greatest gift of all: union history! Share the gift of historical knowledge why you still can with the book Prof. Frank Bongiorno called "easily the best single-volume Australian general union history we have seen." #skystorians

11.12.2025 06:47 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0
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If only there was a way to deliver quality universal health coverage without waiting for the false promise of a superintelligent robot "army".

17.11.2025 03:32 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Strong agree - and tend to be very narrow in their understanding of the economic challenges of the time. The entire post-war growth model was stuttering to an end and nobody really knew how to respond. Whitlam deserves more credit for insisting mass unemployment was not the way to resolve the crisis

10.11.2025 23:53 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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One day, not too long from now, future historians are going to look back on the day when people decided to give Elon Musk a trillion dollars and wonder just what the hell was wrong with us. #AI #tech #histsci

07.11.2025 06:03 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Absolutely floored by this review of my book "No Power Greater" by Frank Bongiorno.

Frank is one of the finest historians this country has produced, and someone whose work I respect deeply.

And the book is, of course, available at all good book stores (and possibly some bad ones)

20.10.2025 06:32 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Great article, really useful rejoinder as well to the assumptions underpinning the AI booster arguments that the only way to prosper in the new economy is to undercut established standards, rather than seeking to responsibly use new tech to elevate them

20.10.2025 04:24 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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πŸ“šOur last Book+Author event for the year is coming up on October 30!

Liam Byrne will be in conversation with Professor Sean Scalmer about his book 'No Power Greater: A history of union action in Australia' at the intimate Bard's Apothecary in the Melbourne CBD.

➑️ Book now: tinyurl.com/4zas4ws4

20.10.2025 03:09 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

A thoughtful and generous review of my book, "No Power Greater", by John Howe. Lovely to read the critical reflections of such a renowned expert in labour law on the work - and always appreciate appeals for a sequel!

11.10.2025 05:03 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Thanks so much Lauren! That's lovely to hear

11.10.2025 05:01 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Have we reached peak #AI inanity? "Pope Leo XIV said a proposal to create an AI-version of him so people could have a virtual audience with the pope pretty much horrified him."

19.09.2025 06:37 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Thanks so much Eleanor, really glad you enjoyed it! The next episode (next week) is on the Russian Rev with Dr Natasha Wilson

09.09.2025 03:56 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I am not usually excited about podcasts but I love the concept of this one (helps that I am currently obsessed with revolutions, particularly the French one). Ep 1 was great!

09.09.2025 00:26 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Hope you enjoy it!

08.09.2025 11:00 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

@ahsjournal.bsky.social

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@garethhutchens.bsky.social

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@louissdevine.bsky.social

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@anthonyzougras.bsky.social

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@rgcooke.bsky.social

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@redrabbleroz.bsky.social

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@pixelatedboat.bsky.social

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@grogsgamut.bsky.social

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@emmashortis.bsky.social

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