How Australia Really Works

Summary : Parvini’s primary objective is to dismantle the idea that "the people" can ever be a sovereign political actor. In Applied Elite Theory, he argues that what we perceive as "populism"—from the MAGA movement to the Yellow Vests—is fundamentally misunderstood by both its supporters and its detractors.

Summary : "In The Prophets of Doom, Parvini provides a comprehensive survey of "cyclical" or "declinist" history. The book serves as a robust counter-narrative to the prevailing "Whig interpretation" of history - the idea that humanity is on an inevitable, linear upward trajectory toward greater freedom, prosperity, and enlightenment."

Summary : Zeihan argues that the world as we know it—an era of cheap goods, global stability, and interconnected supply chains—is not just changing, but actively ending. Zeihan’s thesis is that the "Global Order" was an artificial construct created by the United States after World War II to fight the Cold War. Now that the Cold War is over and the U.S. is withdrawing, the world is reverting to its natural, fractured state.

Summary : Explores the central thesis and detailed arguments surrounding the global demographic transition—often referred to as the "Demographic Winter." It examines the economic, social, and geopolitical consequences of a world where birth rates are plummeting, populations are graying, and the foundational structures of modern civilization are being tested.

Summary : Christopher Ryan's Civilized to Death is a radical and provocative critique of the prevailing "Narrative of Perpetual Progress." The book fundamentally challenges the assumption that modern civilization is the pinnacle of human achievement and that life today is unequivocally better than it was in our hunter-gatherer past. Ryan argues that the very mechanisms of modern progress—agriculture, hierarchical society, technology, and economic growth—are not blessings, but rather symptoms of an "advancing disease" that is making humans and the planet progressively more unhealthy and unhappy.

Summary : Turchin argues that complex societies experience predictable, recurring cycles of stability (integration) and instability (disintegration) that typically last about 50 to 300 years. Turchin identifies two primary structural-demographic forces that, when combined, push societies from an integrative phase toward a disintegrative, revolutionary situation: Elite Overproduction and Popular Immiseration. Key Ideas : Elite overproduction; Popular/Mass immiseration; Intra-elite competition; Wealth pump How Australia Really Works : See below Q&As: Wealth Pump; etc.

Summary : "Successive governments, in the name of expanding opportunity, have flooded the university system with students far beyond what the labour market requires. In doing so, they have unwittingly fuelled a dynamic complexity scientist Peter Turchin calls elite overproduction – the mass creation of credentialed individuals whose economic expectations vastly outstrip the opportunities available to them"

Summary : "Rigged asserts that the perception of Australia as an economically fair and opportunity-rich nation is increasingly a façade. It argues that Australia's rising cost of living, housing crisis, and widening inequality are not merely unfortunate side effects of globalization or technological change, but the deliberate, systemic result of institutionalized cronyism. They term this mechanism the "Game of Mates"—a network of powerful, well-connected elite who utilize legal, non-explicit political favors to extract massive amounts of unearned wealth, or "rents," from the general population." Key Ideas : Grey gifts; Institutionalised nepotism/cronyism; Rent seeking/extraction; Professional managerial class. How Australia Really Works : The book is a great start, but one has to go further and consider more of the major systems of exploitation and extraction (e.g. of migrants, especially temporary migrants and non-European Australians). Australia'...

Summary : "The $250 billion healthcare system will be overwhelmed by a four-fold increase in the number of people turning 80 and put extraordinary financial pressures on younger taxpayers, patients and the industry"

Summary : The purpose of this article is not debating evidence for NDIS-funded therapies, it's about ever-increasing government spending that is wasteful, low-value and exposed to fraud:  "It is no coincidence that Australia’s sluggish productivity, real wages and living standards coincided with massive amounts of taxpayer money being pumped into the now $52 billion National Disability Insurance Scheme and other social welfare programs over the past decade."

Summary : "A critique of modern capitalist economies, arguing that the confusion between value creation (making) and value extraction (taking) is the root cause of today's widening inequality, financial instability, and slow innovation. Mazzucato contends that over the last few decades, the way economists define, measure, and reward value has fundamentally changed, allowing rent-seeking activities to masquerade as wealth creation. This shift has led to massive rewards for those who merely extract wealth from the system, while the true collective creators of value—including the state, workers, and long-term investors—are increasingly undervalued and under-compensated." The book proposes that if we are to successfully reform capitalism and steer the global economy toward sustainable, inclusive, and innovation-led growth, we must first reignite the long-dormant debate about what economic value truly is, and who, precisely, creates it. Key Ideas : Value creation vs extraction...

Summary : "A philosophical critique of the meritocratic ideal that has dominated Western political and economic thought for the last half-century. Sandel argues that meritocracy, far from being a purely just system, has become a source of division, resentment, and humiliation, fundamentally undermining the notion of the common good and fueling the populist backlash seen globally (Brexit, Trump, etc.). This book challenges the deep-seated belief—shared by liberals and conservatives alike—that success is primarily a product of individual talent and effort, and that those who succeed deserve their vast rewards, while those who fail have only themselves to blame." Key Ideas : Meritocracy Myth How Australia Really Works : The top 20% of Australian society rely heavily on the meritocracy myth to justify inequality. However, Australia is one of the easiest places for those with existing power and wealth to use socioeconomic segregation (or urban stratification), credentialism (and l...

Summary : A challenging critique of the political philosophy of the modern workplace. It argues that the workplace, which occupies the vast majority of adult waking hours, is not a sphere of freedom and voluntary contract, as traditionally conceived, but rather an arena of "private government," often amounting to a form of "workplace tyranny." Key Ideas : Wage Slavery; Employer Dominion (Corporate State); Workplace Tyranny; Stockholm Syndrome How Australia Really Works : Australian politicians, media and those with power in organisations (business but also public and non-profits) pretend Australia is free and its democracy is meaningful in people's lives. In reality, 80% of the population are wage slaves or dependent on government in some way. A simple analysis of one's time reveals how much of your productive, waking hours are actually free. Potential Solutions : Free Speech; Clock-off Reform; Universal Basic Services; Universal Investment Accounts; Workpla...