One day to our collective conservative shock he said blandly that no one of intelligence could fail to belong to the progressive leftwing of Australian politics
As I have discovered over the years, when Australians are criticised they either cry or get indignant. Few reflect on why they are being criticised
In June 1950 the US and Canberra had claimed as the basis for their intervention the fact that North Korea had committed ‘aggression’ across an internationally recognized boundary
Many rightwingers I know are intelligent and often caring people. But in foreign affairs any hint of objectivity just falls apart
It was my first encounter with something that would puzzle me for the rest of my career
Normally, in the absence of elections, victory in a civil war without foreign intervention is usually seen as an expression of national will
His [Colin Clark’s] mistake was one I often see with conservative intellectuals, namely the attempt to apply abstract reasoning to social questions that can only be understood on the basis of the direct practical experience
We are all vulnerable – not just the Chinese. But the Chinese were especially vulnerable because they were such a highly ideological nation
The same shallow thinking cripples efforts in this otherwise intelligent nation to tackle corruption. Few thank the whistle-blower or courageous reformer who exposes the evil or wrong-doing in an organisation
being a hawk means never having to say sorry or admit past mistakes