Australia is in transition. Saying it is easy. The panic kicks in when we are compelled to describe what the future might look like. There is no complacent middle to aim at. We will either catch the next wave of prosperity, or finally succumb to the Great Recession. What has gone wrong with our politics? And what does our government need to do so that Australia is not globalisation's next victim? Balancing Act is a passionate look at the politics of change and renewal, and a bold call for active government. George Megalogenis argues that both sides of politics are clinging to an old model because it tells them a reassuring story of Australian success. But that model has been exhausted by capitalism's extended crisis and the end of the mining boom. It is time to redraw the line between market and state. This revised edition of Megalogenis's bestselling Quarterly Essay brings the story up to date through a substantial new essay, and also includes his other acclaimed Quarterly Essay, Trivial Pursuit: Leadership and the End of the Reform Era.