Holding Pattern

Animals

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Summary: Sharing the world with animals; Hunter gatherers and animals; Domestication of some animals; The idea that the human world is separate from the animal world; Animals and extinction; Chimps and humans- the ability to predict what another being might do; Friendly foxes; Animal welfare or animal rights; Biotechnology and animals. Sharing the world with […]

A brief history of marriage

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Marriage is, and always has been, an evolving institution created by human beings for human beings. Attitudes towards marriage change as society changes. Not so long ago, marriage rendered women the property of men. As late as about 30 years ago, “definitions” of marriage precluded the legal possibility of rape occurring within marriage. Nobody today […]

Time for a cost benefit analysis of US alliance

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  (Published on ‘The Drum’ 3 November 2010) Australia’s alliance with the USA seems to be popular with the Australian electorate. Polls by the Lowy Institute (LI) and the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) suggest strong support for the Australian-US alliance. These polls tell us that most Australians regard the alliance as important “for Australia’s […]

Utilitarianism and politics

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 Summary: However applicable utilitarianism is to the development or assessment of ethics and public policy, in the end, it probably adds little to successful navigation of the political process. In 2010 Professor Peter Singer delivered an oration to the Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA). His topic was ‘Ethics & Public Policy’. Professor Singer advocated a […]

Answering the Environmental Crisis: Democratic Mobilisation or Technical Fix?

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Summary: Discusses neo-liberalism and the environment, geo-engineering, Co2 removal, solar radiation management, carbon emissions pricing, criticism of emissions trading, price signals and innovation, progress traps, Easter Island, Latin America and China, persistence of global poverty, the environmental movement, future generations, precautionary principle, economic cycles and environmentalism, unions and the environment. Introduction UK journalist and environmental […]