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Australia Reimagined
Towards a More Compassionate, Less Anxious Society
By: Hugh Mackay
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Paperback | 24 April 2018
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'When it comes to our ecological, social, cultural and economic future, misplaced optimism is as dangerous as blind faith. What is needed is the courage to face the way things are, and the wisdom and imagination - informed by the best available evidence - to work out how to make things better.'
Australia's unprecedented run of economic growth has failed to deliver a more stable or harmonious society. Individualism is rampant. Income inequality is growing. Public education is under-resourced. The gender revolution is stalling. We no longer trust our major institutions or our political leaders. We are more socially fragmented, more anxious, more depressed, more overweight, more medicated, deeper in debt and increasingly addicted - whether to our digital devices, drugs, pornography or 'stuff'.
Yet esteemed social researcher Hugh Mackay remains optimistic. Twenty-five years ago, he revolutionised Australian social analysis with the publication of Reinventing Australia. Now he takes another unflinching look at us and offers some compelling proposals for a more compassionate and socially cohesive Australia. You might not agree with everything he suggests, but you'll find it hard to get some of his ideas out of your head.
Argued with intelligence and passion, this book is essential reading for everyone who loves Australia enough to want to make it a better place for all of us.
About the Author
Hugh Mackay is a social researcher and bestselling author. Australia Reimagined is his nineteenth book. His research career has spanned six decades, including 25 years as research director of The Mackay Report, publishing quarterly reports on all aspects of Australian life. Among many honorary appointments, he has been deputy chair of the Australia Council for the Arts, chairman of trustees of Sydney Grammar School, the inaugural chair of the ACT government's Community Inclusion Board, and is currently a patron of the Asylum Seekers Centre. He is a Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society and has been awarded honorary doctorates by five Australian universities. In 2015, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia. He lives in Canberra.
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4.8 Based on 4 Reviews
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From Australia
fairygwf11
5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring work for all Australians
Reviewed in Australia on 25 January 2023
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I feel a sense of hope for our country and its people, after reading this book. The ideas and ideals are worthy of consideration by all Australians.
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Darren Cronshaw
5.0 out of 5 stars Diagnosis and proactive suggestions for solutions to Australian social issues
Reviewed in Australia on 11 November 2018
Hugh Mackay is Australia’s best known social researcher and author 25 years ago of Reinventing Australia. In Australia Reimagined he shows he continues to have his finger on the pulse of a range of pressing social issues and points in some bold and radical directions for change.
Mackay’s portrayal of what is going wrong is especially concerning for me as I look towards the future of Australia through the eyes of my children. He identifies challenges of relationship breakdown, fragmented neighbourhoods, economic inequality, housing affordability, underemployment, neglect of First peoples, rampant gambling, 100,000 homeless Australians and 65,000 attempted suicides annually. He describes our heartless treatment of asylum seekers (despite a majority of Australians advocating a more welcoming approach), excessive reliance on digital technology, degrading school system and increasingly commercialized university system, and distrust of institutions including parliament, churches and banks,. As a reader I was aware of many of these issues, but Mackay’s analysis gave me stark insights into their extent and implications. Moreover, he opened my eyes to realities I was unaware. For example, lagging behind the pressing social issues our nation faces is a lack of philanthropy; e.g., almost 40% of Australians earning over a million dollars do not claim a single dollar of tax-deductable charity donations! And people report concerning levels of distrust in their neighbours – not because neighbours are universally untrustworthy, but because we do not know our neighbours enough. The biggest challenge Mackay identifies, however, is the heightened and widespread anxiety epidemic. We are an overbusy, hyperconnected, financially overstretched, overweight, overmedicated and overanxious society.
Thankfully Mackay does not simply identify problems but points in alternative directions. Often these are bold and radical suggestions, especially in the four ‘fault lines’ of gender, religion, politics and education. Mackay suggests the gender revolution has stalled and urges a new level of partnership between women and men. As a necessary kickstart he appeals for quotas of women on boards and in leadership positions. Regarding religion, Mackay observes that despite the decline of church attendance there is an increasingly pervasive understanding of God being with and in us and increase of those who self-identify as ‘spiritual but not religious’. If anxiety is the most pressing social issue in Australia, then compassion and mutual respect that religion or any spirituality at its best can foster is the biggest need and solution. The main problem with politics, Mackay suggests, is our adversarial system and so he suggests parliamentary reform, perhaps even nominating representatives by ballot or at least directly recruiting experts as ministers. In the meantime, he urges expecting better service from our parliamentarians (and not calling them politicians). Finally, he challenges the rhetoric of ‘choice’ in education and urges phasing out public money for private schools in the interests of a more egalitarian system offering quality education for all.
One area I would like to read more from Mackay is about more compassionate relationships with Indigenous peoples. Mackay notes Australia’s moral blindness led to one of the worst records of treatment of her First Peoples: ‘For too long, the heart of our nation has been hardened towards its First Peoples, partly because moral and emotional disengagement is an effective way of avoiding the burden of our national shame.’ (p.85) He bemoans how we continue as a nation to fail to act in constructive directions. For example, in 2017 we debated whether to include reference to Aborigines in the constitution’s preamble. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Constitutional Convention of May 2017 issued the ‘Uluru Statement’ that appealed instead for a more serious constitutionally enshrined voice to Parliament, with an Indigenous body outside the Parliamentary structure that advises on issues and legislation related to Indigenous people. Outrageously, it was dismissed and not even discussed by Malcolm Turnbull and his cabinet. Reconciliation with indigenous peoples and closing the gap of inequality of healthcare, education and political representation desperately needs more reimagining and compassionate action along the lines of Mackay’s social vision.
Mackay’s writing suggests many implications for mission and leadership of our churches and agencies. We need a spirituality for our times and I appreciate Mackay’s comments on the power of faith and faith community. We need to model alternatives to materialistic consumerism and develop new ethics in the context of the digital revolution. Locally we need to proactively foster neighbourly connections; among my favourite stories Mackay narrated were the neighbourhood Facebook groups and associated street parties that connected neighbours. Given the declining trust in institutions, we need to reclaim (and re-earn) trust as leaders including the church. Ultimately, we need to join together in thinking innovatively about our most pressing social issues. Mackay celebrates the Aussie innovativeness and resourcefulness that he inspired me to draw on in my research and leadership: “Our capacity for hard thinking, tempered by compassion – the powerful combination former NSW Premier Nick Greiner described as ‘tough minds, tender hearts’ – is what has always prevented us from descending into chaos, and it can keep preventing us” (p.2).
Australia Reimagined is an antidote for complacency and a manifesto for compassion that calls for courage, wisdom and imagination towards a less anxious society. It is essential reading for community leaders and anyone interested in understanding our pressing social issues and proposing alternative solutions.
This review was originally published in Australian Journal of Mission Studies 12:2 (2018), 67, 2.
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From other countries
Ian Murray
4.0 out of 5 stars Classic Hugh MacKay, insightful, challenging, depressing at times.
Reviewed in the United States on 9 November 2018
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Classic Hugh MacKay, certainly tells it as it is, insightful and challenges you to focus on the reality not just the hyperbole which can be a bit depressing.
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19/12/2020Rainbow &.
Sydney Australia
I recommend this product
I Will Consider Buying This Special Book.
Well I Would Dearly Love ๐ To Write Here Something Special and Possibly Positive About Hugh Mackay, I Agree With Him Totally On All His Aspects Regarding Australia Reimagined and I Personally Think Personally Everyone Would Benefit From Reading This informative Book! I Thank You ๐ Booktopia.com.au
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25/01/2020Brooksie
Near Albury.NSW
I recommend this product
Social commentary
Great interpretation of australian society today.
Australia Reimagined
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05/11/2018Paul
Gold Coast
I recommend this product
An excellent book
Excellent book cleverly integrates current problems with possible solutions. What a pity Booktopia don't supply printed receipts with books ordered.
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21/05/2018PPancada
Geraldton, Western Australia
I recommend this product
Fantastic material, great reading and extremely relevant
I am very impressed with the Author sharpness and field knowledge, the quality of the references he makes, how clearly the message is transmitted and how relevant the several subjects addressed are to our current Australia. Very influential book and sooo relevant to most western societies. Brilliant work Mr Mackay, congratulations!
Australia Reimagined
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