Better to Ask For Forgiveness, Not Permission
The abundance of information available to us today would have been unimaginable to people living only twenty years ago. Previous generations found themselves bound to a restricted group of...
The Father of History
‘Herodotus’, Tom Holland writes, ‘is the most entertaining of historians. Indeed, he is as entertaining as anyone who has ever written—historian or not.’ A bold claim though this may be,…
Australia’s Bright Future
An important contribution to the debate about Australia’s future prosperity, The Australian Century—a new book by former Institute of Public Affairs Research Fellow Asher Judah—sets out a roadmap...
Pirates and Bandits and Anarchy
Are there any circumstances where ‘good’ anarchy can outperform ‘poor’ government? Peter Leeson’s new book Anarchy Unbound: Why Self-Governance Works Better Than You Think is the latest political...
A Convulsion of Nature
One generally expects a book about the First World War to commence its narrative at, or before, 1914. Adam Tooze starts his book The Deluge in 1916—or to be more…
Across the Divide
For baby boomers and the older segment of ‘Gen Y’, 1989 was a watershed year in geo-politics. In front of the world’s eyes, people power—the courage of ordinary, anonymous citizens—was…
Shaking Up the Education System
Australians are overwhelmingly supportive of the idea that all children should have access to quality education regardless of family income. Australians are committed to the ideals of publicly...
Paying Your Way
In the May 2014 budget, the Abbott government proposed a ‘radical’ reform package of the Australian university system. If it were implemented, domestic students would have to pay a...
Whither Feminism
Julie Bishop recently stated that she did not consider herself a feminist as she didn’t find the term meaningful today. Bishop was roundly criticised by feminists who found it...
More Energy Please
Good evening ladies and gentlemen, members of the IPA. My remarks will centre around five main points: scale; electricity, wealth and freedom; coal; the big fib; and how iteration means…
The End of the Evil Empire- the Age of the American Atlas
With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War a quarter of a century ago, several US pundits and intellectuals proclaimed the triumph of America’s…
The Battle of Ideas
In 1948 a correspondent self-described as ‘a common worker’, wrote to the IPA Review: For God’s sake do not waste any more good ink and paper writing about Incentives, Profit-sharing,…