Libertarianism—the philosophy of government that pairs free market economics with social liberali... more Libertarianism—the philosophy of government that pairs free market economics with social liberalism— presents a vigorous challenge and viable political alternative to the old Left-Right partisan shouting match.
Libertarianism offers surprising new solutions to stagnant policy debates over issues such as immigration and civil rights, and provides a framework for tackling contemporary problems like privacy, the environment and technological change.
In The Libertarian Alternative, Chris Berg offers a new agenda for restoring individual liberty in Australia, revitalising politics and strengthening our sagging economy.
"‘Our liberty, democracy, and human rights are all in some way related to what was inscribed on p... more "‘Our liberty, democracy, and human rights are all in some way related to what was inscribed on parchment at Runnymede in June 1215."
The Magna Carta is a founding document of individual liberty, the rule of law, and parliamentary democracy. In this accessible and engaging book, Chris Berg and John Roskam explain what the Magna Carta is, where it came from, and why it matters.
The barons demanded of King John nothing less than a wholesale revolution of government. The Magna Carta established the fundamental link between tax and consent.
Eight centuries later, understanding how our liberties came from a revolt against oppressive taxation has never been more important.
If we don’t believe our fellow citizens are intellectually capable of deciding what and how much ... more If we don’t believe our fellow citizens are intellectually capable of deciding what and how much to eat, whether to drink, or how to arrange their financial affairs, then why do we think they are capable of voting?’
We live in a fundamentally undemocratic age. Governments treat their citizens as incapable of making decisions for themselves. Policy-making power has been taken out of the hands of elected politicians. Poll after poll shows the public are unhappy with democracy itself. In this wide-ranging book, Chris Berg makes the case for radical democratic equality, and a democracy order that truly respects the equality and rights of its citizens.
Freedom of speech is at the heart of individual liberty and democracy. Yet, in Australia and arou... more Freedom of speech is at the heart of individual liberty and democracy. Yet, in Australia and around the Western world, it is under attack on all sides: from regulations to force ‘balance’ on the press, to new human rights like the right not to be offended.
In this important new book, Chris Berg offers a bold reinterpretation of why freedom of speech matters. Only by understanding how the right to free expression and freedom of conscience arose can we understand the magnitude of the threats we now face.
The liberty to express our thoughts and opinions is one of the central foundations of Western Civilisation. When governments threaten that freedom of speech, they threaten the foundations of liberty and the democratic system.
We extend the Institutional Possibility Frontier (IPF) – a theoretical framework depicting the in... more We extend the Institutional Possibility Frontier (IPF) – a theoretical framework depicting the institutional trade-offs between the dual costs of dictatorship and disorder (Djankov et al. 2003) – by incorporating the notion of subjective costs. The costs of institutional choice are not objectively determined or chosen by a society; rather, they are subjective to the political actor that perceives them. Our methodologically individualist approach provides a new, highly adaptable extension of the IPF enabling examination of the political bargaining process between dispersed actors, the bounds and evolution of institutional innovation and discovery, and follower-leader dynamics in long-run institutional changes. Our new Subjective Institutional Possibility Frontier (SIPF) helps to integrate ideas into the economics of political systems, creating the foundations for a more subjective political economy
A blockchain is an institutional technology—a protocol—that allows for economic coordination betw... more A blockchain is an institutional technology—a protocol—that allows for economic coordination between agents separated by boundaries of possible mistrust. Blockchains are not the only technology in history to have these characteristics. The paper looks at the role of the diplomatic protocol at the very beginning of human civilisation in the ancient near east. These two protocols—diplomatic and blockchain—have significant similarities. They were created to address to similar economic problems using similar mechanisms: a permanent record of past dealings, public and ritualistic verification of transactions, and game-theoretic mechanisms of reciprocity. The development of the diplomatic protocol allowed for the creation of the first international community and facilitated patterns of peaceful trade and exchange. Some questions about a generalised 'protocol economics' are drawn.
In this paper we provide a critique of behavioural economics or nudging as a basis for practical ... more In this paper we provide a critique of behavioural economics or nudging as a basis for practical policy making purposes. While behavioural economics operates as a plausible critique of standard neoclassical economics, it suffers from the same methodological errors inherent within that tradition. Just as socialist planners lacked the information (and incentives) to allocate resources across an entire economy and economists lack the information to optimally correct externalities, so too libertarian paternalists lack the information to second guess consumer preferences and opportunity costs.
Corporate tax avoidance has come to be a major political and popular issue. This paper considers ... more Corporate tax avoidance has come to be a major political and popular issue. This paper considers the evolution of the corporate tax debate; it scrutinizes the empirical claims and the calls for crackdowns on corporate tax avoidance. It focuses on two jurisdictions, the OECD and Australia, to show how international claims were reproduced in domestic political rhetoric. The paper then considers the economic function of tax competition, and examines the evidence underlying the OECD’s claim that the corporate tax base is being “eroded” by “profit shifting” to lower tax jurisdictions.
Is evidence based medicine (EBM) the most appropriate paradigm for advancing clinical knowledge? ... more Is evidence based medicine (EBM) the most appropriate paradigm for advancing clinical knowledge? There is increasing discussion of how evidence and science guides clinical medicine and the accumulating awareness that individualized medicine inevitably falls within a clinical gray-zone. Here we argue that the basic proposition that an analysis of historical data from controlled trials can objectively and efficiently decipher what treatments are uniformly superior is fundamentally flawed. We also argue in particular that in such a complex system as acute medicine it is predictable that randomized control trials will frequently lack the fidelity to give definitive or even useful answers, especially around the margin of progress.
The paper examines two Australian freedom-of-speech controversies between 2011 and 2013 – the deb... more The paper examines two Australian freedom-of-speech controversies between 2011 and 2013 – the debate over section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, and the debate over the Gillard Government's print media laws. These controversies featured rhetorical and ideological debate about the limits of free speech and the nature of human rights. The paper applies a 'subjective political economy' framework to these debates in order to trace the effect of increased perceived 'disorder costs' and 'dictatorship costs' of freedom-of-speech restrictions. The paper concludes that policy change is driven by exogenous changes in perceived institutional costs. In the case of the Gillard Government's media laws, those costs were borne by the Gillard Government, and one would not expect print media laws to be a major political issue in the absence of a further exogenous shock. In the case of section 18C the revealed dictatorship costs of legislation, which includes the words 'offend' and 'insult', suggest the section 18C controversy will endure.
The 1981 Australian Financial System Inquiry, known as the Campbell committee, is widely seen as ... more The 1981 Australian Financial System Inquiry, known as the Campbell committee, is widely seen as the start of the reform movement of the 1980s and 1990s. Accounts of its origins have been dominated by a debate about which policy actor can take credit. This paper utilises cabinet and Reserve Bank archives to reassess the origins of the Campbell committee. The inquiry had its origins in an earlier attempt by the Whitlam government to take federal control of the regulation for non-bank financial institutions and the building society crisis of the mid-1970s. In its response to these political and economic challenges we can identify the moment in which the Fraser cabinet turned towards market-based reform. The political decisions made in the context of crisis set the path for regulatory change in subsequent decades, particularly in the area of prudential regulation, where we have seen regulatory consolidation and expansion rather than 'deregulation'.
In 2008, the Australian government introduced a guarantee of bank deposits. However, in 1945 the ... more In 2008, the Australian government introduced a guarantee of bank deposits. However, in 1945 the Curtin–Chifley government had already introduced what it believed was an explicit bank deposit guarantee. Using archival material, this paper shows how it was understood to be a guarantee by the cabinet, Labor parliamentarians, and the Commonwealth Bank. The guarantee was an important yet almost entirely forgotten part of the Curtin–Chifley government’s social reform program. This paper uncovers the origins of the perception of a deposit guarantee in this forgotten 1945 debate, the attempts by policymakers and the Commonwealth Bank to roll back those perceptions in subsequent decades, and the Rudd government’s reversion to an explicit guarantee scheme in 2008.
First, cyberbullying is not a new form of social activity but rather one new form of bullying. Se... more First, cyberbullying is not a new form of social activity but rather one new form of bullying. Second, how we conceptualise cyberbullying in relation to traditional bullying will affect our policy approach. Such a subordinate categorisation helps us to direct the possible policy and social responses away from technological or legal responses, which focus on the characteristics of new technologies, and towards the relationships of children in as much as out of school. It also helps to avoid a false sense that by targeting specific forms of expression the bully problem is being tackled. Finally, this approach has the advantage of clarifying the costs of anti-cyberbullying policies, and underlines the importance of respecting the rights of children both to be protected from bullying as well as to develop their identities.
Classical liberalism, the tradition of free markets and individual liberty, has an outsider statu... more Classical liberalism, the tradition of free markets and individual liberty, has an outsider status in the Australian economics profession. This paper surveys the origin of Australian classical liberal economics in the nineteenth century, its sharp decline in the first half of the twentieth century, and its revival and growth in recent decades. Despite a period of successful market-oriented economic reform in the 1980s and 1990s, surveys suggest that classical liberalism is a minority viewpoint among Australian economists. The classical liberal tradition is sustained only by a small number of institutions and individuals. To the extent that it is influential, it is influential thanks to a political culture that prioritises public engagement. Classical liberal economists have a high degree of participation in political and economic debate outside the academy.
Libertarianism—the philosophy of government that pairs free market economics with social liberali... more Libertarianism—the philosophy of government that pairs free market economics with social liberalism— presents a vigorous challenge and viable political alternative to the old Left-Right partisan shouting match.
Libertarianism offers surprising new solutions to stagnant policy debates over issues such as immigration and civil rights, and provides a framework for tackling contemporary problems like privacy, the environment and technological change.
In The Libertarian Alternative, Chris Berg offers a new agenda for restoring individual liberty in Australia, revitalising politics and strengthening our sagging economy.
"‘Our liberty, democracy, and human rights are all in some way related to what was inscribed on p... more "‘Our liberty, democracy, and human rights are all in some way related to what was inscribed on parchment at Runnymede in June 1215."
The Magna Carta is a founding document of individual liberty, the rule of law, and parliamentary democracy. In this accessible and engaging book, Chris Berg and John Roskam explain what the Magna Carta is, where it came from, and why it matters.
The barons demanded of King John nothing less than a wholesale revolution of government. The Magna Carta established the fundamental link between tax and consent.
Eight centuries later, understanding how our liberties came from a revolt against oppressive taxation has never been more important.
If we don’t believe our fellow citizens are intellectually capable of deciding what and how much ... more If we don’t believe our fellow citizens are intellectually capable of deciding what and how much to eat, whether to drink, or how to arrange their financial affairs, then why do we think they are capable of voting?’
We live in a fundamentally undemocratic age. Governments treat their citizens as incapable of making decisions for themselves. Policy-making power has been taken out of the hands of elected politicians. Poll after poll shows the public are unhappy with democracy itself. In this wide-ranging book, Chris Berg makes the case for radical democratic equality, and a democracy order that truly respects the equality and rights of its citizens.
Freedom of speech is at the heart of individual liberty and democracy. Yet, in Australia and arou... more Freedom of speech is at the heart of individual liberty and democracy. Yet, in Australia and around the Western world, it is under attack on all sides: from regulations to force ‘balance’ on the press, to new human rights like the right not to be offended.
In this important new book, Chris Berg offers a bold reinterpretation of why freedom of speech matters. Only by understanding how the right to free expression and freedom of conscience arose can we understand the magnitude of the threats we now face.
The liberty to express our thoughts and opinions is one of the central foundations of Western Civilisation. When governments threaten that freedom of speech, they threaten the foundations of liberty and the democratic system.
We extend the Institutional Possibility Frontier (IPF) – a theoretical framework depicting the in... more We extend the Institutional Possibility Frontier (IPF) – a theoretical framework depicting the institutional trade-offs between the dual costs of dictatorship and disorder (Djankov et al. 2003) – by incorporating the notion of subjective costs. The costs of institutional choice are not objectively determined or chosen by a society; rather, they are subjective to the political actor that perceives them. Our methodologically individualist approach provides a new, highly adaptable extension of the IPF enabling examination of the political bargaining process between dispersed actors, the bounds and evolution of institutional innovation and discovery, and follower-leader dynamics in long-run institutional changes. Our new Subjective Institutional Possibility Frontier (SIPF) helps to integrate ideas into the economics of political systems, creating the foundations for a more subjective political economy
A blockchain is an institutional technology—a protocol—that allows for economic coordination betw... more A blockchain is an institutional technology—a protocol—that allows for economic coordination between agents separated by boundaries of possible mistrust. Blockchains are not the only technology in history to have these characteristics. The paper looks at the role of the diplomatic protocol at the very beginning of human civilisation in the ancient near east. These two protocols—diplomatic and blockchain—have significant similarities. They were created to address to similar economic problems using similar mechanisms: a permanent record of past dealings, public and ritualistic verification of transactions, and game-theoretic mechanisms of reciprocity. The development of the diplomatic protocol allowed for the creation of the first international community and facilitated patterns of peaceful trade and exchange. Some questions about a generalised 'protocol economics' are drawn.
In this paper we provide a critique of behavioural economics or nudging as a basis for practical ... more In this paper we provide a critique of behavioural economics or nudging as a basis for practical policy making purposes. While behavioural economics operates as a plausible critique of standard neoclassical economics, it suffers from the same methodological errors inherent within that tradition. Just as socialist planners lacked the information (and incentives) to allocate resources across an entire economy and economists lack the information to optimally correct externalities, so too libertarian paternalists lack the information to second guess consumer preferences and opportunity costs.
Corporate tax avoidance has come to be a major political and popular issue. This paper considers ... more Corporate tax avoidance has come to be a major political and popular issue. This paper considers the evolution of the corporate tax debate; it scrutinizes the empirical claims and the calls for crackdowns on corporate tax avoidance. It focuses on two jurisdictions, the OECD and Australia, to show how international claims were reproduced in domestic political rhetoric. The paper then considers the economic function of tax competition, and examines the evidence underlying the OECD’s claim that the corporate tax base is being “eroded” by “profit shifting” to lower tax jurisdictions.
Is evidence based medicine (EBM) the most appropriate paradigm for advancing clinical knowledge? ... more Is evidence based medicine (EBM) the most appropriate paradigm for advancing clinical knowledge? There is increasing discussion of how evidence and science guides clinical medicine and the accumulating awareness that individualized medicine inevitably falls within a clinical gray-zone. Here we argue that the basic proposition that an analysis of historical data from controlled trials can objectively and efficiently decipher what treatments are uniformly superior is fundamentally flawed. We also argue in particular that in such a complex system as acute medicine it is predictable that randomized control trials will frequently lack the fidelity to give definitive or even useful answers, especially around the margin of progress.
The paper examines two Australian freedom-of-speech controversies between 2011 and 2013 – the deb... more The paper examines two Australian freedom-of-speech controversies between 2011 and 2013 – the debate over section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, and the debate over the Gillard Government's print media laws. These controversies featured rhetorical and ideological debate about the limits of free speech and the nature of human rights. The paper applies a 'subjective political economy' framework to these debates in order to trace the effect of increased perceived 'disorder costs' and 'dictatorship costs' of freedom-of-speech restrictions. The paper concludes that policy change is driven by exogenous changes in perceived institutional costs. In the case of the Gillard Government's media laws, those costs were borne by the Gillard Government, and one would not expect print media laws to be a major political issue in the absence of a further exogenous shock. In the case of section 18C the revealed dictatorship costs of legislation, which includes the words 'offend' and 'insult', suggest the section 18C controversy will endure.
The 1981 Australian Financial System Inquiry, known as the Campbell committee, is widely seen as ... more The 1981 Australian Financial System Inquiry, known as the Campbell committee, is widely seen as the start of the reform movement of the 1980s and 1990s. Accounts of its origins have been dominated by a debate about which policy actor can take credit. This paper utilises cabinet and Reserve Bank archives to reassess the origins of the Campbell committee. The inquiry had its origins in an earlier attempt by the Whitlam government to take federal control of the regulation for non-bank financial institutions and the building society crisis of the mid-1970s. In its response to these political and economic challenges we can identify the moment in which the Fraser cabinet turned towards market-based reform. The political decisions made in the context of crisis set the path for regulatory change in subsequent decades, particularly in the area of prudential regulation, where we have seen regulatory consolidation and expansion rather than 'deregulation'.
In 2008, the Australian government introduced a guarantee of bank deposits. However, in 1945 the ... more In 2008, the Australian government introduced a guarantee of bank deposits. However, in 1945 the Curtin–Chifley government had already introduced what it believed was an explicit bank deposit guarantee. Using archival material, this paper shows how it was understood to be a guarantee by the cabinet, Labor parliamentarians, and the Commonwealth Bank. The guarantee was an important yet almost entirely forgotten part of the Curtin–Chifley government’s social reform program. This paper uncovers the origins of the perception of a deposit guarantee in this forgotten 1945 debate, the attempts by policymakers and the Commonwealth Bank to roll back those perceptions in subsequent decades, and the Rudd government’s reversion to an explicit guarantee scheme in 2008.
First, cyberbullying is not a new form of social activity but rather one new form of bullying. Se... more First, cyberbullying is not a new form of social activity but rather one new form of bullying. Second, how we conceptualise cyberbullying in relation to traditional bullying will affect our policy approach. Such a subordinate categorisation helps us to direct the possible policy and social responses away from technological or legal responses, which focus on the characteristics of new technologies, and towards the relationships of children in as much as out of school. It also helps to avoid a false sense that by targeting specific forms of expression the bully problem is being tackled. Finally, this approach has the advantage of clarifying the costs of anti-cyberbullying policies, and underlines the importance of respecting the rights of children both to be protected from bullying as well as to develop their identities.
Classical liberalism, the tradition of free markets and individual liberty, has an outsider statu... more Classical liberalism, the tradition of free markets and individual liberty, has an outsider status in the Australian economics profession. This paper surveys the origin of Australian classical liberal economics in the nineteenth century, its sharp decline in the first half of the twentieth century, and its revival and growth in recent decades. Despite a period of successful market-oriented economic reform in the 1980s and 1990s, surveys suggest that classical liberalism is a minority viewpoint among Australian economists. The classical liberal tradition is sustained only by a small number of institutions and individuals. To the extent that it is influential, it is influential thanks to a political culture that prioritises public engagement. Classical liberal economists have a high degree of participation in political and economic debate outside the academy.
The government has not demonstrated that the risks and consequences of mandatory data retention o... more The government has not demonstrated that the risks and consequences of mandatory data retention outweigh the benefits to law enforcement, nor has it demonstrated that the existing legal framework - which was substantially revised in 2012 - is insufficient to tackle the security challenges which the government has identified.
The sharing economy describes a rise of new business models (‘platforms') that uproot traditional... more The sharing economy describes a rise of new business models (‘platforms') that uproot traditional markets, break down industry categories, and maximise the use of scarce resources. The best known services are the ridesharing system Uber and the accommodation service Airbnb. However, the sharing economy extends much further into finance, home tools, investment, and everyday tasks.
This paper recommends new approaches to regulatory design that would encourage the growth of the sharing economy.
In October 2014 the Australian Senate agreed to an inquiry into corporate tax avoidance. This com... more In October 2014 the Australian Senate agreed to an inquiry into corporate tax avoidance. This comes after a wave of media comment about apparent tax “minimisation” strategies practiced by large multinational firms, particularly firms operating in the technology space. The debate over company tax avoidance at home and abroad is a highly politically charged one, but the evidence suggests it offers far more heat than light.
There are three key problems with section 35P:
1. Individuals can engage in illegal conduct with... more There are three key problems with section 35P:
1. Individuals can engage in illegal conduct without being aware they are breaking the law
2. Restrictions on disclosure about special intelligence operations last forever
3. Any exemption will provide only limited protection for journalists but journalism is an ambiguous term, and the exemption will not protect freedom of speech
The Tax Laws Amendment (Tax Integrity Multinational Anti-avoidance Law) Bill 2015 exposure draft ... more The Tax Laws Amendment (Tax Integrity Multinational Anti-avoidance Law) Bill 2015 exposure draft represents an important and concerning watershed in the practice of Australian corporate tax governance
The parliament should unequivocally reject any reduction in the level of scrutiny applied to the ... more The parliament should unequivocally reject any reduction in the level of scrutiny applied to the Australian Taxation Office.
The elimination of the low-value threshold for the Goods and Services Tax constitutes a new tax o... more The elimination of the low-value threshold for the Goods and Services Tax constitutes a new tax on inbound internet trade – that is, it will function as a tariff imposed on Australian consumers. The tax will raise very little revenue and will be expensive and complex to administer. The tax deviates substantially from the existing GST design. The tax is less a tax on consumption but on the reputation of foreign internet businesses. The tax is inconsistent with the government’s commitment to deregulation, the promotion of international trade, and its innovation agenda. The tax rejects principles that the Howard government established in terms of deregulation and the promotion of international trade. The tax will do nothing to address the issue of high retail prices in Australia. While masquerading as a tax integrity measure, this tax is clearly intended to operate as a form of protectionism. The tax will reduce competitive pressure within the domestic Australian economy, and (as a consequence) expose Australian consumers to government sanctioned higher retail prices. The tax will lead to Australian consumers substituting away from large reputable electronic distribution platforms to more disreputable platforms leading to higher rates of internet fraud and possibility criminality. Product safety and consumer protection rights are likely to be compromised. The tax has few safeguards to ensure compliance and remittance of revenue to the Australian government. The tax contributes to increased levels of regime uncertainty within the Australian policy environment. Parliament should reject the Treasury Laws Amendment (GST Low Value Goods) Bill 2017.
Undergraduate history degrees in Australia fail to teach fundamental aspects of Australia's histo... more Undergraduate history degrees in Australia fail to teach fundamental aspects of Australia's history and how Australian liberal democracy came to be. Instead, they offer a range of disconnected subjects on narrow themes and issues focusing on imperialism, popular culture, film studies, and ethnic/race history.
This report contains the results of a systematic review of the 739 history subjects offered across 34 Australian tertiary institutions in 2014, including 34 history programs and 10 separate ancient history programs.
It is widely agreed that a free and independent press is an essential part of a democratic order.... more It is widely agreed that a free and independent press is an essential part of a democratic order. This submission addresses itself to the implications of the words free and independent. Government Intervention in the market for journalism risks undermining the reason we value publicly interested journalism in the first place – its role in providing a check on government and as a third-party watchdog on possible abuses of political, regulatory and fiscal power. When it comes to the profession of journalism and the industrial structure of the media, government is not a disinterested player. Even granting this parliament’s best intentions, government intervention in the media opens up the risk of government interference with the media from future parliaments.
In the South Australian state budget 2017-18, South Australian Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis announc... more In the South Australian state budget 2017-18, South Australian Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis announced that the state government intended to introduce a South Australian Major Bank Levy, one of two revenue measures “to help us meet the cost of our significant support for driving economic growth and creating more jobs”. Treasurer Koutsantonis made clear that this levy was explicitly modelled on the Commonwealth government’s Major Bank Levy, which was announced in the May 2017-18 Commonwealth budget and passed the Commonwealth parliament in June.
In this paper we provide a critique of the Finkelstein and Tiffen argument for increased regulati... more In this paper we provide a critique of the Finkelstein and Tiffen argument for increased regulation of the press. By failing to incorporate recent advances in the economics of regulation into their argument they fail to provide a coherent and rigorous foundation for their position. This leads them to overlook more obvious policy solutions to the problems they perceive in regulating the press. The Finkelstein and Tiffen paper also neglects to incorporate the political context underlying press regulation in general, and the Finkelstein Inquiry in particular. By underplaying the importance of both the economics of regulation and the politics of press regulation the Finkelstein and Tiffen paper misdiagnoses the problem under consideration and leads to inappropriate policy advice.
Democracy is an economic problem of choice constrained by transaction costs and information costs... more Democracy is an economic problem of choice constrained by transaction costs and information costs. Society must choose between competing institutional frameworks for the conduct of voting and elections. These decisions are constrained by the technologies and institutions available. Blockchains are a gov-ernance technology that reduces the costs of consensus, coordinating information , and monitoring and enforcing contracts. Blockchain could be applied to the voting and electoral process to form a crypto-democracy. Analysed through the Institutional Possibility Frontier framework, we propose that blockchain lowers disorder and dictatorship costs of the voting and electoral process. In addition to efficiency gains, this technological progress has implications for decentralised institutions of voting. One application of crypto-democracy, quadratic voting, is discussed.
The paper provides a theory of freedom of speech based on the new institutional political economy... more The paper provides a theory of freedom of speech based on the new institutional political economy. Through politics individuals seek to achieve collectively what they would not be able to achieve individually, forming institutions of social control. But institutions have costs which need to be discovered. Freedom of speech facilitates information discovery about the subjective costs of social institutions. Those costs are not only discovered but created through the acts of speech and expression. The paper develops this institutional approach by contrasting and complimenting against the three dominant theories of free speech: Mill's marketplace of ideas theory, Meiklejohn's democracy theory, and Baker's liberty theory. The paper then shows how the institutional theory can be meaningfully applied to two common questions in freedom of speech debates: that of protest on publicly accessible property, and the relationship between freedom of speech and political correctness.
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Books by Chris Berg
Libertarianism offers surprising new solutions to stagnant policy debates over issues such as immigration and civil rights, and provides a framework for tackling contemporary problems like privacy, the environment and technological change.
In The Libertarian Alternative, Chris Berg offers a new agenda for restoring individual liberty in Australia, revitalising politics and strengthening our sagging economy.
The Magna Carta is a founding document of individual liberty, the rule of law, and parliamentary democracy. In this accessible and engaging book, Chris Berg and John Roskam explain what the Magna Carta is, where it came from, and why it matters.
The barons demanded of King John nothing less than a wholesale revolution of government. The Magna Carta established the fundamental link between tax and consent.
Eight centuries later, understanding how our liberties came from a revolt against oppressive taxation has never been more important.
We live in a fundamentally undemocratic age. Governments treat their citizens as incapable of making decisions for themselves. Policy-making power has been taken out of the hands of elected politicians. Poll after poll shows the public are unhappy with democracy itself. In this wide-ranging book, Chris Berg makes the case for radical democratic equality, and a democracy order that truly respects the equality and rights of its citizens.
In this important new book, Chris Berg offers a bold reinterpretation of why freedom of speech matters. Only by understanding how the right to free expression and freedom of conscience arose can we understand the magnitude of the threats we now face.
The liberty to express our thoughts and opinions is one of the central foundations of Western Civilisation. When governments threaten that freedom of speech, they threaten the foundations of liberty and the democratic system.
Thesis by Chris Berg
Papers by Chris Berg
this paper shows how it was understood to be a guarantee by the cabinet, Labor parliamentarians, and the Commonwealth Bank. The guarantee was an important yet almost entirely forgotten part of the Curtin–Chifley government’s social reform program. This paper uncovers the origins of the perception of a deposit guarantee in this forgotten 1945 debate, the attempts
by policymakers and the Commonwealth Bank to roll back those perceptions in subsequent decades, and the Rudd government’s reversion to an explicit guarantee scheme in 2008.
policy approach. Such a subordinate categorisation helps us to direct the possible policy and social responses away from technological or legal responses, which focus on the characteristics of new technologies, and towards the relationships of children in as much as out of school. It also helps to avoid a false sense that by targeting specific forms of expression the bully problem is being tackled. Finally, this approach has the advantage of clarifying the costs of anti-cyberbullying policies, and underlines the importance of respecting the rights of children both to be protected from
bullying as well as to develop their identities.
Reports and submissions by Chris Berg
Libertarianism offers surprising new solutions to stagnant policy debates over issues such as immigration and civil rights, and provides a framework for tackling contemporary problems like privacy, the environment and technological change.
In The Libertarian Alternative, Chris Berg offers a new agenda for restoring individual liberty in Australia, revitalising politics and strengthening our sagging economy.
The Magna Carta is a founding document of individual liberty, the rule of law, and parliamentary democracy. In this accessible and engaging book, Chris Berg and John Roskam explain what the Magna Carta is, where it came from, and why it matters.
The barons demanded of King John nothing less than a wholesale revolution of government. The Magna Carta established the fundamental link between tax and consent.
Eight centuries later, understanding how our liberties came from a revolt against oppressive taxation has never been more important.
We live in a fundamentally undemocratic age. Governments treat their citizens as incapable of making decisions for themselves. Policy-making power has been taken out of the hands of elected politicians. Poll after poll shows the public are unhappy with democracy itself. In this wide-ranging book, Chris Berg makes the case for radical democratic equality, and a democracy order that truly respects the equality and rights of its citizens.
In this important new book, Chris Berg offers a bold reinterpretation of why freedom of speech matters. Only by understanding how the right to free expression and freedom of conscience arose can we understand the magnitude of the threats we now face.
The liberty to express our thoughts and opinions is one of the central foundations of Western Civilisation. When governments threaten that freedom of speech, they threaten the foundations of liberty and the democratic system.
this paper shows how it was understood to be a guarantee by the cabinet, Labor parliamentarians, and the Commonwealth Bank. The guarantee was an important yet almost entirely forgotten part of the Curtin–Chifley government’s social reform program. This paper uncovers the origins of the perception of a deposit guarantee in this forgotten 1945 debate, the attempts
by policymakers and the Commonwealth Bank to roll back those perceptions in subsequent decades, and the Rudd government’s reversion to an explicit guarantee scheme in 2008.
policy approach. Such a subordinate categorisation helps us to direct the possible policy and social responses away from technological or legal responses, which focus on the characteristics of new technologies, and towards the relationships of children in as much as out of school. It also helps to avoid a false sense that by targeting specific forms of expression the bully problem is being tackled. Finally, this approach has the advantage of clarifying the costs of anti-cyberbullying policies, and underlines the importance of respecting the rights of children both to be protected from
bullying as well as to develop their identities.
This paper recommends new approaches to regulatory design that would encourage the growth of the sharing economy.
1. Individuals can engage in illegal conduct without being aware they are breaking the law
2. Restrictions on disclosure about special intelligence operations last forever
3. Any exemption will provide only limited protection for journalists but journalism is an ambiguous term, and the exemption will not protect freedom of speech
This report contains the results of a systematic review of the 739 history subjects offered across 34 Australian tertiary institutions in 2014, including 34 history programs and 10 separate ancient history programs.
economic growth and creating more jobs”. Treasurer Koutsantonis made clear that this levy was explicitly modelled on the Commonwealth government’s Major Bank Levy, which was announced in the May 2017-18 Commonwealth budget and passed the Commonwealth parliament in June.
regulation and the politics of press regulation the Finkelstein and Tiffen paper misdiagnoses the problem under consideration and leads to inappropriate policy advice.