Contemporary labour movement thinking about the Australian economy took shape between the depression of the 1930s and the long post-war boom, in the form of moderate and, today much diminished, left nationalist currents. Economic conditions, the level of the class struggle and the political proclivities of different classes, particularly as expressed in the working class’s main organisations – the Australian Labor Party (ALP), Communist Party of Australia (CPA) and trade unions. This study focuses on labour movement understandings of three fundamental aspects of Australian capitalism: the country’s place in the world; its class structure; and its experience of severe economic fluctuations.