The greatest underused asset in politics is people; ignore them at your peril. Luca Belgiorno-Nettis

Conventional wisdom holds that the common sense of everyday people finds its voice in elections, and referendums. However, it’s apparent that political campaigns are banal popularity contests at best, and toxic, divisive, ideological battlegrounds at worst. The French philosopher Emil Cioran said: “Ideas should be neutral, yet man animates these ideas with passions and follies,...Continue reading

A Call to Australians to Donate to Democracy

Sydney Morning Herald | Comment | July 2, 2016   In Australia, our cities are gleaming, our beaches glowing, and our politics pathetic. Cheap point scoring and sloganeering have become hallmarks of modern democracy, yet many people are turned off by these antics. But it’s no one’s fault. It’s systemic. We’ve all been weaned on...Continue reading

And they’re off, but does anyone really care?

Sydney Morning Herald | Comment | May 19, 2016. The great divide between the parties is no longer so great. The punters are considering their bets, with the odds narrowing: not that much between the protagonists. You might end up voting for whoever you hate less. The politicians seem more concerned with their careers than us,...

Democracy flounders in a sea of voter discontent

At the beginning of February, Premier Mike Baird came out fighting on GST, declaring: “I am convinced our political leaders and our community are ready to take the right, hard decisions for our future”. When Harold MacMillan, the British Conservative Prime Minister of the ’60s, was asked what can blow a government off course, he...Continue reading

True democracy lies in the hands of everyday people

Luca Belgiorno-Nettis, Comment | Sydney Morning Herald10 May 2015 On display in Canberra’s Parliament House is a 13th century copy of a famous agreement. In 1215, King John acceded to the demands of his rebellious barons and signed the ‘Articles’ at Runnymede, near Windsor. This year marks the 800th anniversary of that event and there are celebrations...Continue reading

Equitable representation enhances social cohesion

Luca Belgiorno-Nettis, Opinion | Australian Financial Review TEXT We’ve all grown up thinking that the way we do democracy today is the best on offer. So famously said Winston Churchill. We groom charismatic and articulate political performers, whose primary skill is to debate, divide and conquer. In the development of public policy, we all value the contest...Continue reading

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