Euthanasia and assisted suicide : a liberal approach versus the traditional moral view

Within the context of the debate over the recent suspended sentence given to John Stuart Godfrey by Underwood J in the Supreme Court of Tasmania for assisting his elderly mother with her suicide, this article examines some of the more popular arguments for and against the moral acceptability of euthanasia and assisted suicide. This article considers the arguments put forward on the “difference principle” by Rachels and Nesbitt before critically examining the liberal approach to the euthanasia issue as proposed by Kuhse. It is argued that whilst Kuhse is correct to reject the difference principle, she does so for the wrong reasons. The penultimate section of the article provides an overview of the traditional moral view against killing. The final part assesses whether the arguments put forward by proponents of the liberal approach are capable of overcoming this view.

Brave new Liberal : Percy Spender

Percy Spender's pioneering work as External Affairs Minister is often held up as a significant contribution to Liberal policy-making and Australian foreign policy more generally. A closer look at his life and thinking illuminates some of the factors behind his policy-making. Some of the more prominent, shaping factors can be organised under the headings of his overseas travels before becoming External Affairs Minister at the end of 1949; his sense that the mid-twentieth period was one in which Asia suddenly played a big role; and his determination that Australians should be proactive in their relations in their region, rather than merely reactive in foreign policy.

Few choices under work choices

This paper sets out the history of the philosophical understanding held by the major political parties towards the governance of the Australian industrial relations system. In so doing it notes there has been a long legacy of socialist and conservative political and ideological support for mediating industrial conflict through the institutional agencies provided by conciliation and arbitration tribunals. The discussion notes the erosion of this legacy under the recent ascendancy of neo-liberal political and neo-classical economic thought, an ascendancy that has seen a significant retreat of state responsibility for mediating relations between the two sides of industry in the name of improving business productivity and national economic outcomes. The passing of the Workplace Amendment (Work Choices) Bill 2005 is the latest legislative manifestation of this thinking. This paper challenges the labour market assumptions and expectations of the Bill by arguing that equality in bargaining power between the two sides of industry in the manner afforded by conciliation and arbitration tribunals is essential for any genuine and lasting prosperity to exist between labour and capital.

A legitimate paradox : neo-liberal reform and the return of the state in Korea

This article examines the neo-liberal reforms that the Kim government implemented in post-crisis Korea. It argues that by embracing the reforms, the state, paradoxically, re-legitimised itself in the national political economy. The process of enacting the reforms completed the power shift from a collusive state-chaebol alliance towards a new alliance based on a more populist social contract - but one that nonetheless generally conformed to the tenets of neo-liberalism. Kim and his closest associates identified the malpractices of the chaebols as the main cause of the crisis, so reforming the chaebols would be the key to economic recovery. Combining populism and neo-liberalism, they drew on support from both domestic and international sources to rein in, rather than nurture, the chaebols.

Industrial relations and catholic social doctrine

This paper reviews the key principles of Catholic Social thought as they pertain to relations between labour and capital. It is argued that such principles are foundational for the conduct of ethical relations and the exercise of moral values in the workplace, and are recognisable in the right of workers to employment and just compensation for their labours, in the duty of employers to provide safe and engaging work for those in their charge, and in the obligation of the state to dispense wise governance in a manner that guarantees the welfare and security of all its citizens. It is argued that these principles have had de facto airing in Australian political and economic history, and that they might be usefully drawn upon again to protect the rights of workers under the current ascendency of neo-liberal policy solutions.

The bio-economy and the competition state : transcending the dichotomy between coordinated and liberal market economies

This article examines the role of the state in the emerging bio-economy. The starting point is that state interventions, including supportive regulatory arrangements and the shaping of public attitudes, constitute core assets in the evolution of bio-industrial complexes. Public policy in the bio-economy, across advanced industrial countries, is well captured by the “competition state” concept. This type of state takes different forms, analogously with the historical variants of the Keynesian welfare state. The article compares patterns of governance of the biotechnology sector in Finland and Sweden, the USA and the UK, and Australia. It is concluded that the bio-industry sector does not fit with the “models of capitalism” paradigm which postulates coherence within, and systemic divergences between, national models of economic governance. The bio-economy displays trends toward convergence, in particular mounting public investments in health care and in research and development. On the other hand, countries differ in their approach to market regulation, industrial support, and ethical restrictions. These differences do not follow the dichotomy between “liberal” and “coordinated” models of capitalism.

Emotion, reason and tradition : essays on the social, poltical and economic thought of Michael Polanyi

This collection of essays demonstrates the continuing importance of the work of Michael Polanyi for the understanding, not only of the great events of the 20th century, but also of the problems that face us in the 21st century. Polanyi moved liberalism away from a negative, sceptical and rationalist basis towards an acceptance of trust, tradition and faith in transcendent values. His conception of the free society is not one merely of doing as one pleases nor vacuously 'open', but one of individual and communal self-dedication to those values and ideals.These essays, authored by a distinguished international and interdisciplinary panel of invited contributors, examine Polanyi's specific insights in the theory of knowledge, the nature and source of social order and the philosophy of economics and science and draw relevant comparisons between Polanyi and related thinkers such as Popper, Hayek and Mises. This book shows the sources of Polanyi's ideas and his distinctive contribution to philosophy generally, to social and political thought and to economics.

In dialogue with A.D. Hope: dialogue two: theatre of thought and creation of `being`

[Dialogue Two focuses on the main philosophical threads in Hope’s work and attitude in which he detaches himself from all beliefs, engaging with them only when he thinks such an engagement might open up a new way of seeing. Hope is adamant that there are no existing theories that provide an answer to life’s questions. His way of living in this world of uncertainties and shifting faiths and ideologies is to create ‘being’ poetically. This acceptance of knowledge’s provisionality does not however mean that he is not intensely interested in each theory that emerges in the theatre of thought.
See Dialogue One for details of the following exchange.]