The Policy Post

  Out of chaos, hope Everywhere, democratic politics is in turmoil. When the confusion recedes, only the progressives will remain standing.

A lovely day in Dystopia. What sort of world do the far-right populists want to create? And what do their billionaire backers want for their money?

  The sullen revolution. Discontent in western democracies feeds the surge in right-wing populism. But why? And why now?

   One damn theory after another (1) Those big economic theories all seemed like good ideas at the time. Only later did we realise the economists had wrecked the joint.

  One damn theory after another (2) After the shocks of the seventies, Milton Friedman thought he had the answers. He didn’t.

One damn theory after another (3) How banks stopped being banks and took over the world.

  Prosperity versus the planet: can we have both? Humanity needs economic growth – but we also need a habitable planet. We can have both, but not if we go on doing the same things.

  The retreat from globalism. After three crippling shocks – the GFC, the pandemic and Trump’s war – globalisation has gone into reverse.

  Democracy in trouble? Blame the economy. Democracy and prosperity go together. When economies go backwards, authoritarians flourish.

For China, is this as good as it gets? The ‘middle-income trap’ that ended the rise of so many former tiger economies now ensnares China. The prognosis isn’t good.

  How the west mishandles terrorism (and makes it worse) In the rich world, terrorism is one of the least significant of all threats to life and security. But our panicked over-reaction and rushed, repressive laws do what the terrorists could not achieve by themselves.

  Does Trump really matter? He thought the world was simple and that he had the formula for changing everything. But the world is more complicated than he ever imagined. His impact will vanish with him.

  How bed-blocked is your hospital? Almost all of Australia’s 278 public hospitals with emergency departments are afflicted by bed block, but the pain is not spread evenly. This post shows the results for all of them – and why it’s suddenly got much worse.

  We’re desperate for a new, better world. Who can deliver it? Parties of the progressive Left are the last, best hope to rebuild democratic societies and avoid domination by the populist far right. But are they up to the job?

  Who’s to blame? It didn’t take long for the nation's leading political opportunists to hijack the Bondi massacre for their own purposes.

  Too many guns. For three decades, Australia’s much-praised gun laws almost eliminated mass shootings. But we now have more guns than ever; and this post from almost three years ago has suddenly, and appallingly, become relevant again.

  Anatomy of a blame game. As public hospitals sink further into disarray, federal and state governments go to war over money. And nobody wants to take responsibility for fixing the system.

  The resistible rise of the modern fascist. Western liberal democracy is under more stress than at any time in eight decades. But today’s wannabe fascists are more mortal than most of us realise.

  The over-hyped world of AI. Artificial intelligence won’t change as much as the promoters claim. But, for some, its impacts will be disruptive – and sometimes disastrous.

  We should be so much better than this. Post-stroke treatment neglects the most effective – and cost-effective – options. Patients, the health system and the whole economy pay the price.