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I’ve always thought that the author of that phrase showed a fundamental misunderstanding of what ought to make a country prosperous. He seems to think it’s surp

I’ve always thought that the author of that phrase showed a fundamental misunderstanding of what ought to make a country prosperous. He seems to think it’s surprising that Australia’s success has come from the bottom up (millions of individuals acting in accordance with basically-sensible cultural norms) rather than top down (imposed by the will of some great leader). But societal success always comes from the bottom up, and great cultures come from evolution, not intelligent design. May the reins of political power in our country continue to exist in the hands of uncreative intellectual non-entities and suburban solicitors. When Great Men with Big Ideas get into power it always seems to result in a disaster.

hnick 7y ago
I personally think it's more of a give-and-take or feedback loop. Sometimes you need leaders who recognise strong ideas and run with them. I think a clear recent example (regardless of personal opinion) is the whole gay marriage debacle. The majority of the population wanted it but no leader had the guts to be the one to do it. The closest we got was wasting money on a plebiscite, spending $80 million to basically ask "are you really sure you want this?". I don't mind being more directly involved in democracy, but we never have such plebiscites for other issues. They didn't have the courage to go ahead without covering their backsides. Anyway, back to the quote, if we're going to anthropomorphise Australia then the impression I get is that we are the rich kid who grew up with all the advantages bestowed upon us by Mother Britain but we never really learned to fend for ourselves as independent adults. We can't coast forever.
- bigger_cheese 7y ago
  > We can't coast forever. Funny you should mention that. Keeping Australians 'Relaxed and Comfortable' was John Howard's election pitch from a famous interview in 1996 and that legacy of "keep coasting, don't rock the boat why take a risk..." Has pretty much defined politics in this country ever since.
  - hnick 7y ago
    And those "quiet Australians" who conveniently support the status quo :)

hnick 7y ago

I personally think it's more of a give-and-take or feedback loop. Sometimes you need leaders who recognise strong ideas and run with them. I think a clear recent example (regardless of personal opinion) is the whole gay marriage debacle. The majority of the population wanted it but no leader had the guts to be the one to do it. The closest we got was wasting money on a plebiscite, spending $80 million to basically ask "are you really sure you want this?". I don't mind being more directly involved in democracy, but we never have such plebiscites for other issues. They didn't have the courage to go ahead without covering their backsides. Anyway, back to the quote, if we're going to anthropomorphise Australia then the impression I get is that we are the rich kid who grew up with all the advantages bestowed upon us by Mother Britain but we never really learned to fend for ourselves as independent adults. We can't coast forever.

bigger_cheese 7y ago
> We can't coast forever. Funny you should mention that. Keeping Australians 'Relaxed and Comfortable' was John Howard's election pitch from a famous interview in 1996 and that legacy of "keep coasting, don't rock the boat why take a risk..." Has pretty much defined politics in this country ever since.
- hnick 7y ago
  And those "quiet Australians" who conveniently support the status quo :)