Ideas & Liberty
Ideas & Liberty
The Institute of Public Affairs examines the philosophical and moral case for liberty. By situating current political, economic and social debate in the history of Australian and international liberalism, it is possible to shed new light on the questions of today. The Institute of Public Affairs approaches political debate firmly grounded with an appreciation of entrepeneurship, civil liberties, individual responsiblity and free markets.
Sub-topics of Ideas & Liberty
Publications
Should government force companies to be responsible?
Since at least the 1960s, advocates have called for firms to be socially responsible. Governments have responded. But what does it mean for firms to be socially responsible? And do government subsidies and regulations help? Calls for firms to be...
Civil liberties under fire
Attacks on individual freedom in Australia over the past few years have occurred in some unexpected places. Take, for instance, the unprecedented assault on civil liberties we have seen in Australia in recent years. Both the left and right of...
A roadmap to peace in the war on drugs
The war on drugs has been raging for decades. Tens of millions of lives have been lost or ruined. Because both the effect of the drugs and the effect of criminalisation have contributed to the toll, both prohibitionists and those for...
The essence of successful nations
Tolstoy famously wrote that while happy families are all alike, unhappy families are uniquely unhappy in their own way. In their latest book, MIT economist Daron Acemoglu and Harvard political scientist James Robinson have found the Russian...
Why capitalism is awesome
Each year the glossy business magazine FastCompany releases a list of what it considers to be the ‘World's 50 most innovative companies'. This list is populated much as you would expect. In 2012, the leader is Apple, followed by Facebook,...
Regulator lets the cat out of the bag: data retention not just about national security
"The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's demand to access Attorney-General Nicola Roxon's proposed data retention regime reveals how dangerous this regime could be," said Simon Breheny, Director of the Rule of Law Project at the free...
Roxon's data retention scheme worse than Australia card
"Attorney-General Nicola Roxon's proposal to force internet service providers to log details of every Australian's internet usage is one of the most significant threats to individual liberty in Australian history," said Simon Breheny, director of...
Submission to the Inquiry into potential reforms of national security legislation
The Institute of Public Affairs believes many of the national security proposals contained in the Attorney-General's Department's Equipping Australia against Emerging and Evolving Threats Discussion Paper are unnecessary and excessive. Many of the...
Be like Gough: 75 radical ideas to transform Australia
If Tony Abbott wants to leave a lasting impact - and secure his place in history - he needs to take his inspiration from Australia's most left-wing prime minister. No prime minister changed Australia more than Gough Whitlam. The key is that he did...
