The audacity of hope

30 July 2010In the Adelaide Review, John Spoehr dares to dream of population politics without population populism

POLITICIANS can bring out the best and worst characteristics in a community at election time. They play to our fears and our hopes. One of the great orators of our time, Barack Obama gave Americans a taste of hope and it won him the Presidency of the United States. His optimism was infectious and energising for a nation tired of the politics of fear. The challenge facing Obama now is to translate his audacity of hope message into outcomes on the ground as impatience grows in a nation desperate for more rapid recovery from deep recession. Our leaders should learn from this experience.

Back in Australia the politics of fear infects the 2010 Federal election. Imagine if hope was on offer. What might that look like…?

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John Spoehr is Executive Director of the Australian Institute for Social Research at the University of Adelaide

 

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