tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post7335095388651968045..comments2024-03-25T19:48:24.624+11:00Comments on Oz Conservative: Where to Libs?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post-4668326143119054562019-01-25T14:55:32.693+11:002019-01-25T14:55:32.693+11:00This article from 4 years ago regarding the 2014 V...This article from 4 years ago regarding the 2014 Victorian election is just as applicable in 2018: http://www.menzieshouse.com.au/the-liberal-loss-we-had-to-have/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post-46384055732006583042018-12-25T20:25:16.493+11:002018-12-25T20:25:16.493+11:00Thankyou Mark. Whatever your thoughts please conti...Thankyou Mark. Whatever your thoughts please continue the good work. You remain an inspiration to many, myself included.Lucas Rosasnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post-48187827041935737802018-12-23T18:52:41.322+11:002018-12-23T18:52:41.322+11:00Lucas, sorry for not replying earlier, hectic life...Lucas, sorry for not replying earlier, hectic life. I like both of these very much and hope to write on them shortly.Mark Richardsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15961688379656119701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post-80082014654648817802018-12-15T20:03:29.966+11:002018-12-15T20:03:29.966+11:00I also quoted you in my article on the Victorian e...I also quoted you in my article on the Victorian election.<br /><br />It only seemed fair since it appears you came to many of the same conclusions before I did.<br /><br />https://tinyurl.com/ycxdtafzLucas Rosasnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post-57667749341579318052018-12-15T19:57:54.681+11:002018-12-15T19:57:54.681+11:00Mark I wrote my own thoughts on traditionalism and...Mark I wrote my own thoughts on traditionalism and got them published here:<br /><br />https://tinyurl.com/ybj6r9pw<br /><br />I'd be flattered if you'd have a look.Lucas Rosasnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post-51171085826705802912018-12-11T19:48:51.815+11:002018-12-11T19:48:51.815+11:00The idea that the Liberals are "better econom...The idea that the Liberals are "better economic managers" doesn't resonate much anymore, especially since recent history empirically indicates that they are not. Howard's economic success came from a chance mining boom, mass population growth, cheap credit and inflating house prices. Abbott and Hockey were dismal. What was their legacy? A house of cards, economically speaking.<br /><br />The reason that the upper middle class is moving away is perhaps more mundane. The Liberals lack talent. So do Labor but at least they have some small redeeming characteristics, and like the Greens at least make the pretense of relying on more than simply their reputation to garner votes.<br /><br />The fact is, that more educated people, that is, those who are more likely to be middle and upper middle class, simply see through the Liberals bluster and see them for what they really are. A party coasting on successes which have since long subsided, populated mainly by people with a sense of entitlement and a bemusing lack of knowledge about things which many of my contemporaries have some knowledge of (such as Climate Change). Add to that a severe lack of self-consciousness and you've got a party which has nothing but a brand name going for it.<br /><br />If they started to even address issues that impact me, I might consider voting for them again, but they don't.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post-80515533998626174242018-12-07T14:55:17.140+11:002018-12-07T14:55:17.140+11:00So many people have missed this movement to the le...So many people have missed this movement to the left in the Upper classes. So many people still base so much of their social and political analysis on outdated cold war norms.<br /><br />Your analysis of the causes are spot on as well, although I'd add that the reasons for the domination of schools by far left teachers is the domination of the university system by far left lecturers. <br /><br />That is the source of the contagion and nothing will change until something in the education system shifts. Political parties are more or less superfluous in the face of this massive elephant in the room.JAMESnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post-65811998476746451462018-11-29T12:06:58.289+11:002018-11-29T12:06:58.289+11:00The existence of the numerous minor parties is int...The existence of the numerous minor parties is interesting from the US perspective, as they have a seemingly unpredictable impact. It does seem to get non-elites a presence that you don't see in the US outside of the part-time New Hampshire state legislature.<br /><br />Economic prosperity seems to correlate with a revival in environmentalist sentiment, as voters feel they can afford the cost of green politics. It has been difficult to square a right-wing politics with environmentalism, given the donors and votes linked to oil and mining. My biggest problem with Greens other than the leftist social values is their anti-nuclear stance.<br /><br /><br />Part of the problem with a social conservative party is the ethnic/confessional divide. Traditionalists tend to distrust their counterparts from other groups just as much as they do towards liberals. The term "Judeo-Christian ethics" satisfies no one, let alone an expansion to "Abrahamic" to be inclusive of Muslims which not even the National Review types in the US have been willing to use. And it also raises the question of the secularists that vaguely support a traditionalist politics, but have no vocal way of defending a rather rootless sentiment other than "Cultural Christianity".<br />Timnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post-54621490251195190732018-11-27T21:16:20.780+11:002018-11-27T21:16:20.780+11:00So Labor is going to be bleeding more and more sup...<i>So Labor is going to be bleeding more and more supporters to the Greens.</i><br /><br />Good point. The Greens are no longer just a Brunswick party. They're getting a sizeable chunk of the leftist vote even in the upper middle class areas. So Labor might find itself in a predicament of its own - further abandon traditional Labor politics to head off the Greens - which then, as you point out, leaves a potential political vacuum on the left. <br /><br />Although I think it's unlikely, the emergence of something like a "Blue Labour" movement would be very welcome.Mark Richardsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15961688379656119701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post-49444004456164606932018-11-27T11:02:20.342+11:002018-11-27T11:02:20.342+11:00If they take this option, it will open up a large ...<em>If they take this option, it will open up a large political space on the right. It could be an opportune moment for a genuinely non-liberal, right-wing party to build a voter base.</em><br /><br />The Labor Party faces an interesting future. There's no reason for the LGBT-friendly environmentally conscious hardline feminist refugee-loving cultural left to vote Labor any more. They might as well vote for the Greens. So Labor is going to be bleeding more and more supporters to the Greens.<br /><br />And there's zero reason for anyone with traditional left-wing economic justice ideas to vote Labor.<br /><br />So there's potentially a huge potential political space on the left. For a party articulating traditional left values - fair play, strong family values, nationalism, economic justice. Such a party would not necessarily be hostile to the ideas that traditionalists cherish.<br /><br />So if there's hope it will come from a fragmentation of both the existing major parties.dfordoomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02306293859869179118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post-58570176515372416582018-11-27T10:48:09.020+11:002018-11-27T10:48:09.020+11:00What the middle class wants is a government that i...What the middle class wants is a government that is hard right economically, because they want to be rich. But they want a government that is socially and culturally left-wing, so they don't have to feel guilty about being rich.dfordoomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02306293859869179118noreply@blogger.com