Ideas@TheCentre

Help us continue our mission

What is it about The Centre for Independent Studies that merits attention? What is it about the Centre that merits support? Like Elizabeth Barrett Browning, let me count the ways. Some of them anyway ...

Commitment to its core foundational philosophy. The ideas that underpin the CIS are about freedom, about responsibility, about respect, and about progress and prosperity – and there’s a passion for this. In my case, it’s been so for nearly 40 years and it still endures.

Independence from outside influences. Independence is a fragile thing, but for those of us at the CIS it courses through our veins. It’s the pursuit of an idea to its conclusion. The independence of the Centre is underpinned by a community of people of similar mind and that has been the case for nearly 40 years. ]

Quality and care in our output. People are free to disagree and reject anything we say. That’s a privilege that goes along with freedom and democracy, but our critics along with our friends, take notice of our research. Like the cleansing of the sun our works are exposed to scrutiny. They pass the test.

Optimism. That’s not something people might think about when looking at what we do. People see the many publications, the countless events, and the widespread media coverage. These are public and obvious. But there’s a strain of optimism that infuses all this. It’s a belief that individuals can be masters of their own destinies if given the chance. The danger is that this is being sapped by increasing power of the state in people’s lives.

Government is not the solution to all our ills and more and more the cause of many. What should the boundaries be? Why should our daily lives be subject to the whims and fancies of those in power? These are questions that concern us all at CIS as we provide ideas to increase people’s capacities to deal with their own problems. We cannot grow as individuals, community or society if initiative is suffocated.

What I have been describing are some of the strengths of the unique organisation that is The Centre for Independent Studies. But its independence and capacity to continue its mission are underpinned by the many individuals and organisations that see value in its ideas.

Times are tough. We all know that. Governments at all levels are intruding where they shouldn’t. The CIS is one of the very few organisations willing to challenge this unceasingly. But we do need your help to ensure that our team of excellent people continue this task.

As the end of financial year is upon us, please do consider make a tax-free contribution to our end of year appeal by following this link. Thanks for your continuing interest and support of the Centre.

Greg Lindsay is Executive Director of The Centre for Independent Studies.