Inaugural Don Aitkin Lecture: What Was It All For?

In: Australian quarterly: AQ, Band 77, Heft 6, S. 4-13

Abstract

Presents the text of the inaugural Don Aitkin Lecture given at the U of Canberra on 23 November 2005. A eulogy for former U of Canberra chancellor Donald Horne is followed by a discussion of the book, What Was It All For?, which deals with the reshaping of Australia. Attention is called to the diminishment of confidence in Australias future & the brooding sense of encroaching disaster that exists among todays citizens. The deleterious effect of the shift from community to the individual is discussed, along with the political system & historical pro-Americanism of the nation-state of Australia. It is contended that Australia has gotten itself into a mess with respect to Iraq, the so-called war on terror, & domestic legislation on security. These problems have been exacerbated by the peoples relative indifference to politics. It is concluded that the people need to remember that democracies are built by citizens, not by leaders. It is time for the citizens of Australia to again become involved in the never-ending process of building a good society. J. Lindroth