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TABLE OF CONTENTS – MAY 2018
Editorial – The Courage to Say No
Scott Hargreaves
In this edition we feature and salute two extraordinary individuals two men who have a taken a stand against an apparent consensus…
John Roskam
Reflections upon Jordan Peterson’s incredible performance in Melbourne.
Matthew Lesh
Peter Ridd’s battle for integrity in science raises questions about freedom of inquiry at Australia’s universities.
IPA Researchers
It’s time to consider new and disruptive options to revitalise our democracy.
Gideon Rozner
Our obsession with licensing and certification keeps Australians out of work.
Morgan Begg
To restore our Federation, tax equalisation payments must be abolished and state fiscal autonomy encouraged.
Daniel Wild
Governments must pursue bold structural reforms if 2018 is to be the year of the tax cut.
The Long March Since Paris ’68
Scott Hargreaves
Student and worker protests in Paris in 1968 were short-lived but the effects have been felt for 50 years.
Historians’ War on Criminals
Matthew Bach
Claims nineteenth century criminals were oppressed by a ‘ruling class’ misrepresent a time when British institutions were increasingly liberal.
Daniel Wild
Jordan Peterson’s new book draws on biology, psychology, religion and philosophy to show individuals how to take responsibility for their lives.
Spreading Democracy
Georgina Downer
The international expansion of freedom and democracy is being held back by declining support for liberal democratic ideas in the West.
How Networks and Hierarchies Explain the World
Matthew Lesh
Niall Ferguson explores the historical importance of hierarchies and networks, helping us understand today’s interconnected world.
Fr James Grant enjoins churches to forgo populist progressivism in favour of the focus on the dignity of the individual and the social institution of the family.
Morgan Begg
A confronting new book by Bryan Caplan argues that the education system in the West is a waste of time and money for students and taxpayers.
Zeev Vinokurov
The Logic of Weirdness
Peter Gregory
Economist Pete Leeson explores the rational basis behind otherwise bizarre cultural practices.
Richard Allsop
John Edwards’ new book on John Curtin stands up better than the he partisan rant delivered by Paul Keating at its official launch
Strange Times
James Bolt
The recent cold snap through Europe has seen unprecedented levels of children playing, and worse, enjoying themselves
Featured Articles
Morgan Begg
Renewing State Sovereignty
To see why the GST needs to be reformed, look no further than the comments made by state leaders during February’s Council of Australian Governments meeting. The Turnbull government’s offer to pay up to 45 per cent of public hospital funding and to cap annual growth in federal spending at 6.5 per cent per year was swiftly rejected by most state Labor leaders
Matthew Lesh
How networks and hierarchies explain the world
Niall Ferguson’s The Square and the Tower is a whirlwind journey few historians would attempt. From the House of Medici to September 11, the Reformation to World War II, the Enlightenment to Facebook, Ferguson’s sixty-chapter sweep through history is an audacious effort to show how networks and hierarchies shape the world. This broad perspective allows us to better understand the
Matthew Lesh
Australia’s Galileo Moment?
This article first appeared in the May 2018 IPA Review. Professor Peter Ridd cannot fully express the beauty he finds in science, explaining that ‘If you can’t understand the mathematics behind physics, you won’t get it’. He admits to a certain ‘physics arrogance,’ in the manner of The Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon Cooper – the young, awkward genius who looks
Daniel Wild
From Chaos To Order
Professor Jordan Peterson is a clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at the University of Toronto. He has posted thousands of hours of content on YouTube on subjects ranging from the psychological significance of the Bible, to political correctness and postmodernism. This content has been viewed tens of millions of times. Just one recent interview with Cathy Newman on the
Vladimir 'Zeev' Vinokurov
School’s Out
Education in the West is a waste of time and money, argues Bryan Caplan in a confronting new book, reviewed by Vladimir ‘Zeev’ Vinokurov. (A PDF of this article appears here. It first appeared in the May 2018 edition of the IPA Review). Think back to university or high school. Were you or your classmates ever left bored or wondering
Simon Breheny
FIVE IDEAS TO FIX AUSTRALIA
This article first appeared in the May 2018 edition of the IPA Review. PDF available here. A recent university study found that public satisfaction with our democratic processes and public trust in the politicians we elect are at some of the lowest levels ever recorded. Meanwhile, Australia is experiencing sluggish economic growth as businesses struggle under the burden of red
Morgan Begg
Keeping the Faith
Morgan Begg reviews Keeping the Faith: The Battle for Australian Catholicism, by Fr James Grant. (this article first appeared in the May 2018 edition of the IPA Review. A PDF can be downloaded here). All religious establishments in the People’s Republic of China became bound by the government’s new ‘Regulations for Religious Affairs’ from February 1, 2018. The stated aim
Daniel Wild
Time For a Tax Revolution
This article first appeared in the May 2018 IPA Review. PDF version is here. With its push for corporate tax reforms, the Federal government is billing 2018 to be the year of the tax cut, but Australia’s tax system is so archaic, inefficient, and destructive of wealth creation that only root and branch reform can deliver a much needed boost
Gideon Rozner
Your License To Work
It’s hard to recall an Australian election in which the word ‘skills’ didn’t find its way into at least one of the major parties’ policy platforms. A vague mantra of ‘investing in skills’ is often wheeled out to give the appearance of economic credibility without having to commit to the tough medicine of genuine economic reform. In 2007, for example,
Book Reviews
Peter Gregory
The Logic Of Weirdness
Peter Leeson in a new book explores the rational basis for bizarre cultural practices. How could plunging a person’s arms into a cauldron of boiling water be a relatively accurate indicator of guilt or innocence in medieval Europe? In his new book, WTF?!: An Economic Tour of the Weird, Peter Leeson, Duncan Black Professor of Economics and Law at George
Matthew Lesh
How networks and hierarchies explain the world
Niall Ferguson’s The Square and the Tower is a whirlwind journey few historians would attempt. From the House of Medici to September 11, the Reformation to World War II, the Enlightenment to Facebook, Ferguson’s sixty-chapter sweep through history is an audacious effort to show how networks and hierarchies shape the world. This broad perspective allows us to better understand the
Richard Allsop
The Politics of Curtin’s War
A new book by John Edwards explores the political life and relationships of Australia’s 14th Prime Minister, John Curtin (John Curtin’s War, Volume 1: The Coming of War in the Pacific, and Reinventing Australia) What Paul Keating said at the launch of John Curtin’s War has attracted more publicity than the contents of the book itself. The cliché is that all publicity is good
Gideon Rozner
Your License To Work
It’s hard to recall an Australian election in which the word ‘skills’ didn’t find its way into at least one of the major parties’ policy platforms. A vague mantra of ‘investing in skills’ is often wheeled out to give the appearance of economic credibility without having to commit to the tough medicine of genuine economic reform. In 2007, for example,
