The Metaphysics of Utopia and Ideology

  On the Rim of a Maelstrom The Title of this post is borrowed from a chapter heading in Volume 5 of Manning Clark’s A History of Australia: The People Make Laws 1888 – 1915. Manning Clark was writing, from an Australian perspective about the events leading up to the beginning of the First World War. I hope that the following illustrates why I have entitled my post in this way. On Monday April 24, 2023 the state funded Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) posted a piece entitled “Defence force shifts posture to ready Australia for 'missile age', and combat threats further from shore” on its news web site. The article written by political reporter Jake Evans declared: “The world has entered a new military age and Australia must "re-posture", the first major review of the nation’s defence forces in a generation has concluded.” Referencing the public version of the Australian Federal Government’s Defence Strategic Review (DSR), proclaimed to the Australian public on...

  Questions Concerning Social Media Platform Labelling of News Media In these times of heightened national and international tensions many are voicing their concerns that news outlets and broadcasters are restricting public discourse to a narrow political and economic band of ideas. There is a tendency amongst social commentators that various pundits who write and speak these days express their views within these restricted parameters for fear of challenging powerful organisations such as governments, security agencies and various corporate interests. This state of affairs is all the more concerning given how private companies, think tanks can be intertwined with state security interests. It is very difficult for the public to determine whose interest’s news outlets and the pundits they employ are serving. During the course of the last few weeks there has been an angry dialogue across the western media concerning how the social media platform Twitter applied several categories ...

On April 14, 2023 the Guardian presented its readers with an Editorial entitled: The Guardian View on China and Europe: Macrons Careless Words Were Costly . The purpose of this Editorial addressed Président Macron’s bungled words concerning an independent European economic and foreign policy resulting in the Président’s perceived undermining of trans-Atlantic solidarity . After reading this Editorial I came away with the thought that the argument presented involves a double standard such that the use of blunt language by some political leaders is acceptable and at the same time not acceptable (a blunder and breach of solidarity) when used by others especially when these others view the world of politics and economics differently. The Editor of the Guardian (henceforth referred to as the Editor) opined: “Four years ago, Emmanuel Macron remarked that the era of European naivety on China was over.” In making this proclamation the Editor hopes to highlight the contradiction in Prés...