Ideas about Liberty
This work focuses on traditional liberal concerns - the extent of government and the restraint of liberty. However, the crucial issue constantly raised and addressed is what makes for a good society. Is a society truly civil if government bureaucracies have constantly to intervene to regulate and restrict the activities of citizens? Or, is the only truly civil society an ‘open society’. The ideal the CIS endorses is that a good society is one in which autonomous citizens are at liberty to order their affairs as they wish, in which individuals have the capacity to take personal responsibility for their choices, and in which people are left free to combine with others as they see fit to advance their mutual interests.
Publications
-
TARGET30: Reducing the burden for future generations
| 01 Jul 2013 | Policy ForumTARGET30 is a campaign promoting smaller government and cutting government spending to less than 30% of GDP in the next 10... Read More...
-
A Fair Go: Fact or Fiction?
| 09 May 2013 | Policy MonographsThe Australian ideal of a fair go is fact rather than fiction. By offering all individuals the opportunity to capitalise... Read More...
-
In the Pay of the Piper: Governments, Not-for-Profits, and the Burden of Regulation
| 23 Apr 2013 | Issue AnalysisReforms intended to boost confidence in Australian charities risk turning the charitable sector into just another arm of... Read More...
-
After the Welfare State: Politicians Stole Your Future … You Can Get It Back
| 08 Apr 2013 | Occasional PapersHistory, economics, sociology, political science, and mathematics are the tools to understand and evaluate welfare states,... Read More...
-
Tax Welfare Churn and the Australian Welfare State
| 27 Mar 2013 | TARGET30 Research PapersThe welfare state currently consumes $316 billion a year; however, much of this spending is not targeted at those who need... Read More...
Opinion & Commentary
-
Youth disgust weakens democracy
| 08 Jul 2013 | The Australian Financial ReviewPolitical parties have become self-serving cliques whose methods, motives and messages have not changed since their grandfathers ... Read More
-
Moral mission of small government
| 27 Jun 2013 | The Australian Financial ReviewRegardless of which party wins the election in September, the new government will have much more important issues to deal ... Read More
-
Big Brother deters charity
| 26 Apr 2013 | The AustralianReforms intended to boost confidence in Australian charities risk turning the charitable sector into just another arm of ... Read More
-
Outcry ignores role of travellers
| 20 Feb 2013 | The Canberra TimesWhat are the responsibilities of the Australian government to help citizens who get into trouble overseas?... Read More
-
Hummus, Hamas and the hopeless naive
| 18 Oct 2012 | Quadrant OnlineIn the wake of the violent Islamist riots, concerns that western governments will seek a political accommodation and try ... Read More
Ideas@TheCentre
-
On the trappings of power
| 12 Jul 2013A seat in the Royal Box at Wimbledon is one of those perks top politicians come to expect, even those who say they hate privilege....
-
Absurd reaction to first Muslim frontbencher
| 05 Jul 2013The anti-Islamic rants against Ed Husic this week were both absurd and inconsistent....
-
Authoritarian China’s successes vindicate liberalism
| 05 Jul 2013Liberal reforms are still needed in China to unlock the entrepreneurial talents and ambition of the world’s largest nation....
-
Freedom and smaller government
| 28 Jun 2013The issues that we as a society face have only arisen because government has moved away from its core roles....
-
Help us continue our mission
| 21 Jun 2013Why should our daily lives be subject to the whims and fancies of those in power?...
