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The Rise of the Crankocracy
Recently I’ve been searching for a word that describes our present system of government. Liberal democracy isn’t quite right (though it has features of both) because the phrase omits too many of its other features: notably, the rise and dominance of cranks, the casual overriding of well-established professional rules, and the imposition of formal and informal censorship on matters of controversy.
All three hang together, and all are dealt with below, but the key one seems to me to be the rise and dominance of cranks. Several people have suggested that the word idiocracy is the one for which I’ve been looking. It’s also the title of a clever comedy of a few years back which some commentators predictably argue predicted the presidency of Donald Trump. Its producers have recently coined the witty advert: “The film that started as a comedy … but became a documentary.” Fair play to them. It’s a funny movie, now on video. Watch it.
John O’Sullivan’s column appears in…
Madam: Archbishop Fisher (July-August 2024) does not resist the attacks on his church by the political, social or scientific atheists and those who insist on not being told what to do.
Aug 29 2024
6 mins
To claim Aborigines have the world's oldest continuous culture is to misunderstand the meaning of culture, which continuously changes over time and location. For a culture not to change over time would be a reproach and certainly not a cause for celebration, for it would indicate that there had been no capacity to adapt. Clearly this has not been the case
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23 mins
A friend and longtime supporter of Quadrant, Clive James sent us a poem in 2010, which we published in our December issue. Like the Taronga Park Aquarium he recalls in its 'mocked-up sandstone cave' it's not to be forgotten
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2 mins