In Inside Story, Ian Anderson reviews Peter Sutton’s unsettling account of Indigenous policy, The Politics of Suffering

AN INTERVIEW with Peter Sutton published in the Age in July began with the tag line, “Driven into action by loss, the linguist and anthropologist wants to shake the very foundations of Indigenous policy,” and concluded:

“Asked what would he do if he woke up one day and found himself advising Kevin Rudd, he says: ‘I am not a policymaker; policy is not my special bag. I am somebody who has lived a lot with people and lost a good many friends.

“‘I have been driven into action by grief more than anything else. Stimulating discussion and getting people to think the unthinkable, that is the goal I have set myself’.”

This self-reflection encapsulates the passion, energy and intellect that inform The Politics of Suffering, which draws together a number of essays and presentations into a provocative and unsettling critique...