Adolescence is a comparatively recent social construct. Whilst the ancient Greek philosophers had a little to say about the transition between childhood and adulthood, this phase transition really only became accepted in the nineteenth century. The concept of adolescence has played a critical part in the emergence of “identity politics”. Idealistically, Western society saw a […]

There is an old saying that whoever discovered water, it wasn’t fish. Fish are continually immersed in water and it is so common place to them that they don’t notice it. In Australia we have a similar problem with democracy. Because, like the fish with water, we are immersed in it, we take it for […]

A Parable A prince went to see a famous sage. The dissolute prince complained to the sage that despite all his wealth and privileges he was not happy. “Is there some advice you can give me, that might help me find some joy in my life?” implored the prince. “If you could learn to love […]

The English poet William Wordsworth wrote a poem which he titled The World is Too Much with Us. Many of us today would believe that was a very strange title for a poem. But for me that is not the case. Let me explain why, The essential part of being human is our consciousness. When […]

It seems to me that we in the West have begun to take our democracies for granted. Most of us, particularly our younger citizens, want the freedoms our democracies provide, often abusing them, but without having invested in the maintenance of such freedoms. Only a generation or two ago many young men fought and died […]

We are being overwhelmed by the cult of “wokeness”. It has many faces but I am increasingly beguiled by the “wokeness” disciples and their strident objections to “cultural appropriation”. I am not sure I completely understand the concept, but it seems now that it is deemed wrong for anyone to depict or seek to interpret […]

The “woke” elite that run the cancel culture in Australia believe that they have the inalienable right to determine what might be put forward in debate in Australia. If this is allowed to continue only debate affirming identity politics and left wing ideals would be admitted into the public domain. Tony Abbott appears to be […]

There are now glimmers of hope that we are stumbling out of the Coronavirus mire. It has been a distressing time for many Australians. Not only have we had to deal with the impacts on our health of a persistent, virulent and sometimes deadly virus, but we have also had to deal with the draconian […]

  “As is the custom these days whenever weather surprises us the term ‘climate change’ is bandied around to describe the event” Steven E Koonin Unsettled President Biden has just finished a tour of districts recently impacted by Hurricane Ida in the United States. Following the tour he has made a statement to the press […]

George Orwell, author of the astonishingly prescient book 1984, in 1940 wrote: Almost certainly we are moving into an age of totalitarian dictatorships – an age in which freedom of thought will be at first a deadly sin and later on a meaningless abstraction, The autonomous individual is going to be stamped out of existence. […]