Occasional Papers
Occasional Papers (OP) are short publications usually based on a lecture or presentation given at the CIS. Our annual John Bonython and Acton Lectures are part of the OP series.
Categories
After the Welfare State: Politicians Stole Your Future … You Can Get It Back
History, economics, sociology, political science, and mathematics are the tools to understand and evaluate welfare states, rather than emotional responses or conspiracy theories. This little book, edited... Read More
Re-moralising the Welfare State
The welfare state should be fair as well as caring. Fairness requires that claimants are not treated more favourably than people who work; that more deserving cases are treated differently from less deserving... Read More
Capitalism and Virtue: Reaffirming Old Truths
In the 2012 Annual John Bonython Lecture, eminent political scientist Charles Murray describes the larger historical forces that have been at work in the United States (and, to a lesser extent, Australia)... Read More
Sustainability of Indigenous Communities
Social indicators of Indigenous disadvantage prove that the orthodox methods of delivering services to Indigenous people have not worked. The failure of these methods is also indicated by the proliferation... Read More
The Power and the Responsibility: Child Protection in the Post-Welfare State Era
Government-run child protection services in Australia are plagued by systemic problems, including a misguided emphasis on family preservation. This paper examines the cultural, political and ideological... Read More
Declaring Dependence, Declaring Independence: Three Essays on the Future of the Welfare State
In a time when governments are running up enormous welfare bills and intrusively regulating everyday life, this series of essays remind us that many people do not need to rely on the government to survive. Read More
In Praise of Elitism
Australian society is frequently characterised as egalitarian: belief in a 'fair go' for all and a love for cutting down tall poppies are canonical elements of the national character. Does our distrust... Read More
The Ethic of Respect: A Leftwing Cause
Frank Field argues that nineteenth century Christianity bequeathed us a "rich deposit of ethical values", which he summarises as an 'ethic of respect'. In this paper he warns that this ethic is rapidly... Read More
Welfare Reform and Economic Development for Indigenous Communities
Noel Pearson's lecture is to set out a case for a comprehensive reform agenda in Cape York Peninsula. Read More
Smothering By the Security Blanket: Risk, Responsibility and the Role of Government
To what extent can the government manage risk in our society without smothering self-responsibility and impinging on personal liberties? Conde outlines strategies for reducing risks citing examples of... Read More
Conspicuous Compassion: Why sometimes it really is cruel to be kind
This book by Patrick West challenges the trend towards dramatic public displays of 'concern' which have very little to do with genuine compassion. Such displays of empathy do not change the world for the... Read More
Boys' Education - Research & Rhetoric
There is significant evidence that boys have been experiencing educational disadvantage. In this paper, Jennifer Buckingham puts forward recommendations for schools - in particular for teachers - which... Read More
A Self-Reliant Australia. Welfare Policy for the 21st century
In this paper Peter Saunders suggests that the time has come to turn back the growth of this expensive, damaging, demeaning and largely unnecessary welfare state behemoth Read More
Six Questions About Civility
Civility is a moral virtue and a social responsibility, contributing to the public good and the quality of life. Yet the term civility is often used without a true understanding of what it is and why it... Read More
The Social Foundations of a Free Society
A look at five main areas where current trends may be eroding the free society - family life, schooling, community relations, the welfare state, and the values, norms and beliefs that comprise our common... Read More
Reconnecting Compassion and Charity
Supporters of big government and the welfare state regularly accuse their opponents of lacking ‘compassion’. But how much have they thought about what compassion really involves? And how do they reconcile... Read More
Democracy and the Welfare State
The welfare state has now been experienced by several generations. In this Occasional Paper, Professor Kenneth Minogue looks at some of its effects on the character of Western states and societies. The... Read More
A Private Education for All
Mark Harrison argues in A Private Education for All that public education suffers from a lack of competition and a political process that favours teachers and bureaucrats over students, parents and employers.... Read More
Civic Capitalism- An Australian Agenda for Institutional Renewal
A new political middle ground is forming around the idea that successful societies depend on ‘social capital’- the goodwill, trust and sense of mutual obligation that underpin co-operation and community.... Read More
The Social Roots of Prosperity
A society’s prosperity depends on its families. That is the central message of Brigitte Berger’s analysis of economic an and political success. Read More
The Moral Sense: An Essay
The distinctive feature of The Moral Sense: An Essay is that it uses the findings of modern science and social science to provide extensive evidence that natural human inclinations toward sociability lay... Read More
Welfare State and the Problem of the Commons, The
In this contribution to the CIS Social Welfare Research Program, David Thomson argues that the typical welfare state produces unintended generational inequity because it is an ill-designed common: since... Read More
From Welfare State to Welfare Society
The legitimacy of the welfare state has survived the shift in recent years towards smaller government and a greater role for individual initiative and enterprise in the economy. Michael James argues... Read More
Equalising People: Why Social Justice Threatens Liberty
In this Occasional Paper, David Green challenges the pursuit of social justice on three grounds: It is based on a shallow and materialistic conception of human nature that ignores unpriced and unrewarded... Read More
The Education Monopoly Problem
Professor Edwin West explores the various mechanisms that have evolved in several countries for enhancing choice both within state school systems and between state and private schools. Read More
The Long Debate on Poverty
In The Long Debate on Poverty, Professor Hartwell analyses the debate on poverty and its historical roots; demonstrates the remarkable similarity between earlier and modern discussions on the subject;... Read More
Social Welfare: The Changing Debate
David D. Green’s monograph Social Welfare: The Changing Debate, summarises the research findings and arguments of several recent studies of welfare dependency. Read More
The Rhetoric and Reality of Income Redistribution
In this survey of a variety of aspects of income redistribution, Gordon Tullock asks not that we should necessarily change our behaviour, but that we should at least speak the truth about what we are doing. Read More
Social Welfare: The Changing Debate
The Centre for Independent Studies Social Welfare Program has commissioned studies by qualified economists and other social researchers and thinkers into various aspects of the welfare issue and the policy... Read More
Population Growth: Curse or Blessing?
Population growth is widely regarded as self-evidently a cause of poverty and backwardness in Third World countries. In this Occasional Paper, Lord Bauer challenges this belief and argues that population... Read More
Preventative Policing
In this companion paper to "Six Questions About Civility" (2002), Nicole Billante explores ways to combat the problem of rising crime in Australia, looking particularly at the initiatives carried out in... Read More
