Speech against the proposition at a debate organized by the Socratic Forum Australian National University, 11 March 2008 Clive Hamilton I have been asked to speak against the proposition. In the sweep of human history we can identify a great trend. As humans progress their consciousness becomes less parochial, their

An address to a meeting of the Environmental Givers Network Melbourne, 17 October 2007 Clive Hamilton1 Today, I plan to talk about the state of climate science, the Federal Government’s evolving international position and the emerging security issues associated with climate change. Political actors typically engage in exaggeration to advance

A talk to a seminar organised by Compass Portcullis House, House of Commons, London, 4th October 2007 Clive Hamilton1 The Individualised World Not long ago, while walking through Sydney’s CBD, I overheard a snippet of conversation between two young women sitting in the sun. “I’m not sure what to do

The Scary Politics of Climate Change A talk to the Brisbane Writer’s Festival 15 September 2007 Clive Hamilton Fear of stating the truth Political actors typically engage in exaggeration to advance their case. The Labor Party exaggerated the likely damage due to the introduction of the GST, despite the fact

A talk to the Melbourne Writer’s Festival Storey Hall, 31 August 2007 Clive Hamilton Franz Kafka once wrote that “it is an extremely painful thing to be ruled by laws one does not know”.1 The story in which Kafka made this observation told of an imaginary kingdom ruled by secretive

A debate at Macquarie University, 15 August 2007 Our opponents have tried to persuade you that, because we believe capitalism is bad for the soul, we are just tofu-eating, poetry-reading, bicycle-riding, leftist basket weavers. We plead guilty to all charges, except basket-weaving. Capitalism’s fine in its place; the problem is