Month: May 2015
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Breathing the haunted air
The surprise election of Victorian GP and relative political newcomer Richard Di Natale to the leadership of the Australian Greens has caused a certain amount of consternation in Canberra: in the press gallery because the transition was achieved with a minimum of fuss, and amongst the party faithful because it was achieved with a minimum…
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Disciplined hope: on Irving Howe
In the long and laudable history of left-wing schism and self-inspection, this year’s winter issue of the progressive US magazine Dissent constituted something of a ‘shirtfront’ moment. It carried a piece by the political philosopher, and co-editor of the magazine, Michael Walzer, accusing the left, or a significant portion of it, of turning a blind…