Outside the Bubble
Renewing the Moral Foundations of a Post-COVID World
A video which explains why many people are angry and turning to populist leaders. It explains the downside of meritocracies, our failure to encourage the dignity of work and our propensity to blame those who are not as lucky as ourselves...
2020 Edelman Trust Barometer - global report
The 20th annual report is now available. There are three key findings for me - inequality is an increasing factor in the decline of trust; people no longer believe that working hard will lead to a better life and in Australia trust in institutions amongst the informed public is 68% while it is 45% among the mass population. It is time for more work on inequality!..
Rusted Off: Why country Australia is fed up - by Gabrielle Chan
Why are we so fed up with politics? Why are formerly rusted-on country voters deserting major parties in greater numbers than their city cousins? Can ordinary people teach us more about the way forward for government?..
Thoughtful article about the changes that the major parties will need to make - to structure, to policy and to strategy to survive the rise of the populist fringe. Written by former Rudd staffers Andrew Charlton and Lachlan Harris...
How the Cold War led the CIA to promote human capital theory
An interesting essay about the history of human capital theory. This theory has underpinned the move from a focus on society to a focus on the individual. Some would argue that it is this theory that has led to the disaffection of those ‘outside the bubble’. Margaret Thatcher, a supporter of human capital theory famously said that there is ‘no such thing as society’...
Anywheres vs Somewheres: the split that made Brexit inevitable
A very good analysis of the split in western democracies between the ‘Anywheres’ – those who are university educated, have moved away from where they grew up and see themselves as citizens of the world and the ‘Somewheres’ who have not been to university and for whom place matters deeply. Reading this book will help you to better understand your broader family and their attitudes...
Why Big Cities Will Ultimately Prevail
Another angle on the divide between those on the inside and the outside of ‘the bubble’. Shows that this divide is producing unusual election results in Turkey, Russia, Hungary and across Europe. The author’s thesis is that ultimately it is a city country divide and that the big cities will prevail over time...