Really Dangerous Ideas

The inspiration for this book of essays came from the Festival of Dangerous Ideas (FODI). The Sydney Opera House and the St James Ethics Centre have hosted FODI for four years. Although the organisers try to canvass ideas that appeal across the political spectrum, they are about as balanced as the ABC1 television's Q&A and as subtle as, 'when did you stop beating your wife?' For example, Israel is an apartheid state was a nice little starter in the 2012 Festival. Ilan Pappe an Israeli was invited to speak; he is the author of The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. Who are the people who attend FODI and believe the nonsense they are fed?: those who forsake the world of markets and profit, who forsake religion, except for environmentalism, who forsake science, except in the service of climate change abatement policies. They are the people we call, and they also call, Progressives. The proposition in this book is that not much progress occurs when Progressives rule the policy roost. These are beaut little essays, written in an opinion style, easy to digest, indeed quite dangerous and perhaps the first of many volumes. Australia needs liquid fuel security - David Archibald 22 Arab countries one goal: destruction of Israel - Barry Cohen. The world needs the Anglosphere - Peter Day. School choice matters to poor students - Kevin Donnelly. Science matters in a post-modern world - James Franklin. Religion matters for faith, hope and love - Ian Harper. Downsize Canberra: remove federal income tax - John Humphreys. European Union as self-aggrandisement - Michael James. Abolish the Human Rights Commission - Gary Johns. Biodiversity does not matter: revealed biodiversity matters - Eric Jones. Foreign investment matters to Australian workers - Asher Judah. Bittersweet charity - Miranda Kiraly. Family is the fundamental unit of society - Richard Lyons. We need nation states - David Martin Jones. Intellectuals do not matter - Greg Melleuish. Financial complacency in the face of three economic crises - Frank Milne. Does respect matter? - Kerryn Pholi. Privatise the ABC - Tom Switzer. Australia should become a superpower - Cassandra Wilkinson. Progressives: philosophy adrift without an anchor - Tim Wilson.