Latest Articles
We are encouraged to rely more and more on government officials to do for us what we could equally well do for ourselves—and, maybe more importantly, not to do what might help us solve our own problems.
Sep 08 2024
10 mins
If we imagine a metric called the Pinocchio Scale, which measures the number of lies told by a politician as a percentage of his or her overall public statements, our current prime minister (for want of a better description), Airbus Albo, has moved well into uncharted territory.
Sep 06 2024
5 mins
The Elite Charade of Reforming the Elite
When Barack Obama was nearing the end of his second presidential term, he turned to a group of management consultants at McKinsey & Company for advice on how to spend his retirement “making democracy more vital”. Management consultants, of course, are all about “change”. Unsurprisingly, they advised Obama that his post-presidential life should involve the creation of a charitable foundation. Now up and running, its mission is “to inspire, empower, and connect people to change their world”. It has programs focused on global girls’ empowerment, young leaders, African change-makers and corporate mentorship.
If that sounds an awful lot like the program of another recent Democratic president’s foundation, it is. The Clinton Foundation also has programs for girls, students, Africa and mentorship, in addition to HIV/AIDS, climate change and Haiti. Clinton’s been at it longer, so he’s had time to diversify.
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
Aug 20 2024
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
Aug 16 2024
2 mins
