Rationale: Monthly digest for March 2025

Published: Mon, 03/31/25

Hi ,

Among the highlights from Rationale in March:

David James wrote about the political opportunity for any party or movement that wants to get serious about addressing Australia’s high property prices.
Elizabeth Dangerfield reflected on decision-making and why humans rarely choose to do what is good for them.
Ralph Hertwig and Stephan Lewandowsky examined what behavioural science could tell us about how democracy could give way to autocracy.

You can support Rationale by making a donation to the Rationalist Society of Australia. You can gain full access to articles by signing up as a member. If you’d like to submit a Letter to the Editor or an article for publication, contact me via editor@rationalist.com.au.

Si Gladman
Editor

Highlights from Rationale

The electoral opportunity in our housing affordability crisis

By David James

As the federal election looms, there is an extraordinary silence about an issue that has profoundly distorted Australian society, dividing older and younger generations. That issue is outrageously high property prices. The major political parties have for the last two decades half heartedly proposed failed policies, such as first-home buyers grants. But there has been no serious attempt to address the underlying causes. Should a political party or movement decide to get serious about doing something it would be able to exploit what is arguably the biggest electoral opportunity in a century.

Read the full article

The decisions we make

By Elizabeth Dangerfield

The new year is well and truly over, and most Australians are back to their normal lives. Which is another way of saying that the vast majority of people have given up on their New Year resolutions. It is a pity that many people give up their resolutions so easily, as they can provide a fork in the road leading to better outcomes. Why is it that we don’t choose to do what we know is good for us? I think we all know the answer to that – it is all too difficult! It is easy to succumb to short-term gratification and give in to our basic human nature.

Read the full article

Having secular government spaces helps us respect religious differences

By Heather Champion

Deciding on whether or not to pray is a conversation our community has already had with council, and had quite recently. The last time there was a discussion about whether or not we should have a civic prayer, 68 per cent of respondents objected. If every time the council conduct a consultation and get an answer we don’t like, and we just try again, then we will quickly lose the trust of the community. Regardless, this decision should be about more than numbers. It should be about principles.

Read the full article

MBJ's view on current affairs

See more of MBJ's recent work

Letters to the editor: Support for scripture program highlights bias of politicians

By John Barrell

In reference to your article about Special Religious Education (SRE) in public schools (RSA Weekly, 29 March 2025, ‘NSW Labor government backs Liberal-National MPs in praise of scripture program’), it just shows just how biased our politicians are toward especially Christianity. There are churches and Sunday schools where parents, if they desire, can take their children. There is no place in our schools for indoctrination.

Read the full Letters column

Behavioural science helps explain why we miss autocratic red flags

By Ralph Hertwig and Stephan Lewandowsky

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 paved the way for the democratisation of many eastern European countries and triumphantly ushered in the era of global liberal democracy that some scholars celebrated as “the end of history”. The idea was that human political history followed a steady path and that western liberal democracy was the end point of the evolution of human government. Unfortunately, events unfolded a little differently. The last 20 years did not follow a linear arc of progress, let alone marked the end of history. The growing electoral success of extreme rightwing parties in many western countries, from France to Finland and from the Netherlands to Germany, has turned the end of history into the possible end of democracy.

Read the full article

The end of coal and the nuclear red herring

By John Quiggin

Coal has had its day as Australia’s key energy source — regardless of what politicians driving an energy debate full of distractions tell you over the next few months — and the suggestion that nuclear energy is a viable replacement is a red herring. Coal-fired power is more expensive than renewable alternatives, more polluting and the power stations that use it now are old, generally obsolete and unreliable. They won’t be rebuilt. That’s not just an opinion; it’s backed by all the evidence, regardless of how many political agendas argue otherwise.

Read the full article

PO Box 1312
Hawksburn Victoria 3142
AU

Unsubscribe | Change Subscriber Options