Ideas
Matter.

Scholars often describe Australian politics as having two axes: Labor and non-Labor. The implication being that what holds the right-wing of Australian politics together is its shared opposition to the labour movement and its political arm, the Labor Party. Historically, the non-Labor side of Australian politics has formed and re-formed four times, finding its most successful incarnation in the Liberal Party of Australia (1944 - Present). However, if recent polling is to be believed, the Liberal Party's glory days are over. Right-wing populism has finally reached Australia's shores. If an election were held today, One Nation would become the second-biggest party and primary opposition to the Labor Party. To make sense of this profound historical shift, I interviewed Professor Emeritus Judith Brett, who has written several acclaimed books studying Australian liberalism. We discuss the early history of Australian liberalism, its roots in Protestantism, and the gradual erosion of class-based politics in Australia.

Political theorist Paul Kelly of the LSE joins to make sense of post-liberalism and expose its internal contradictions — uniting figures as disparate as JD Vance and Patrick Deneen.

Professor Xiang argues China has a rich cosmopolitan tradition that embraces difference — a sharp contrast to the West's history of colonialism and imperialism.

Dr Liam Byrne walks through the values of unionism, how the labour movement survived the neoliberalism of the 1980s, and Australia's unique industrial relations framework.

Matt McManus argues for merging strong individual liberties with a more democratic, redistributive economy — drawing on Mill, Rawls, and Mouffe.

PhD Candidate Claudia Young unpacks what it means to be red-pilled vs black-pilled, and how figures like Tate and Peterson are mainstreaming misogynistic ideologies.