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
The Century of Networking
In this John Bonython Lecture, Rupert Murdoch reflects on the coming century of networking. In contrast with pessimistic views of technology taken by writers such as George Orwell, Mr Murdoch sees technology...... Read More
Failure, Chaos and Leadership- Ingredients of Democratic Reform
In this Occasional Paper, delivered as a Bert Kelly Lecture in June 1994, Kenneth P. Baxter says that substantial and far-reaching changes must be made if Australia is not to become a ‘post-colonial...... 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
Literature and Freedom
In this CIS Occasional Paper, Mario Vargas Llosa highlights the mutually beneficial relationship between literature and freedom. Where freedom does not exist, censorship and self-censorship stifle creativity-...... Read More
Questions of Conquest and Culture
In the tenth John Bonython Lecture, the Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa reflects on the key question: ‘Can these cultures become modern and overcome oppression while conserving…fundamental elements...... Read More
Economics, Faith and Moral Responsibility
In this CIS Occasional Paper, Robert Sirico defends the institutions of the free and open society from a Christian standpoint.... Read More
Lessons from the Freiburg School: The Institutional Foundations of Freedom and Prosperity
West Germany’s post-War economic success was based on the ideas of the ‘Freiburg school,’ a school of liberal economists, lawyers and social philosophers centred at Freiburg University.... Read More
Another Look at the Cultural Cringe
The notion of the Australian cultural cringe is one of the myths that undermine the vigour of our social and intellectual life. ... Read More
Advertising Bands: Administrative Decisions or Matters of Principle?
In this Occasional Paper, John Gray argues that the paradox reflects the fallacious belief that the economic sphere of life requires security rather than freedom.... 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
Why I Am Not a Conservative
Liberals who uphold the idea of a free society in which both economic and civil liberties are respected are often regarded as conservatives. In his essay ‘Why I Am Not a Conservative’, first published...... Read More
How Much Justice Does A Society Need?
In the ninth John Bonython Lecture, Kenneth R. Minogue, Professor of Political Science at the London School of Economics, recalls that justice used to mean the rule of law, or the impartial application...... 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
Freedom, Tradition, Conservatism
This CIS Occasional Paper reproduces an essay of his first published in 1960. In it, Meyer argues that the ‘libertarian’ and the ‘traditionalist’ opponents of socialism (or what he called ‘collectivist...... 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
Dismantling Socialism: A Preliminary Report
In the eighth John Bonython Lecture, Václav Klaus, Finance Minister of Czechoslovakia, gives an account of his government’s attempts to move away from a socialist system towards a free-enterprise system.... Read More
Liberating Labour: The Case for Freedom of Contract in Labour Relations
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. In this CIS Occasional...... Read More
The Fraternal Conceit: Individualist versus Collectivist Ideas of Community
In this Occasional Paper, Dr Chandran Kukathas defends the liberal conception of civil association, in which individuals bound by rules of just conduct can peacefully coexist and pursue their private individual...... Read More
The Market Process and Environmental Amenities
Most observers believe that free markets self-evidently harm the environment, and that the only available remedy is government regulation to ensure a ‘balance’ between economic growth and environmental...... Read More
Reflections on Privatisation
In this Occasional Paper, Dr Roderick Deane, a close observer of New Zealand’s extensive privatisation program, argues that although corporatisation can dramatically improve the performance of state-owned...... Read More
