A collection of 38 posts
Parnell Palme McGuinness on the six distinct "tribes" of young Australians she uncovered—and why personal agency, not income, is the strongest predictor of happiness.
Australia has long been considered politically stable compared with Europe and the United States. But according to political scientist Eric Kaufmann, that period of “Australian exceptionalism” may be coming to an end.
An ex-prisoner reflects on Jeffrey Epstein, the Epstein files, Prince Andrew, and the rise of online conspiracy theories.
The surge in support for Australia’s populist right-wing party One Nation suggests that immigration restrictionism has become increasingly popular with voters: a political trajectory that echoes that of many other Western nations.
Populist rhetoric is exceptionally effective for pursuing and gaining power, but it provides no program for the complexities of actual governance.
The fate of the Weimar Republic stands as a warning of what happens when societies and their citizens indulge extremism.
Standing up for due process, free speech, civil liberties, intellectual pluralism, and scientific rigour doesn’t win you many friends these days.
Online audiences have become increasingly radicalised by predatory algorithms pushing conspiratorial, schizophrenic narratives and content creators are rewarded for feeding into them.
Political discourse during our polarised moment can be vicious and exhausting, but it is still preferable to the alternative.
An interview with Francis Fukuyama.
American populism and religion are bound by a shared desire for order in a rapidly changing world.
Liberal democracies need to restore a climate of entrepreneurial opportunity and competition.
Populist rhetoric and the hidden costs of economic illiteracy.
Valid critiques of progressive moralism have devolved into an embrace of anything-goes strongman rule.
What Karl Popper’s classic can teach us about the threats facing democracies today.