Fear and Politics (Scribe Short Books) - Softcover

Lawrence, Carmen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1920769870 ISBN 13: 9781920769871

Publisher: Scribe Publications Pty Ltd., 2007

Synopsis

'The survival of our democracies depends not on our capacity to hit back at the terrorists, but on our capacity to think for ourselves.'

To talk of Australians and fear in the one breath might seem a contradiction. The defining element of our vision of ourselves is of a resilient and fearless bunch of iconoclasts who could never be stampeded into frightened submission.

But Dr Carmen Lawrence argues that fear has been a crucial factor in shaping Australian public policy in recent years, and in Fear and Politics she charts its consequences on the Australian body politic. She discusses how xenophobia has shaped policies toward refugees, indigenous Australians, and Islamic fundamentalists, and examines the effects of being constantly warned about the risk of terrorism. She also looks at the sustained campaigns on law and order, and the exaggerated anxieties people now have of the risks of assault, murder, child abuse, and robbery.

Dr Lawrence argues that fear can never provide a foundation of moral and political argument, and that the necessary antidote to the toxin of fear is a wholehearted embrace of the principles of freedom, equality, and co-operation. Human betterment must again be the prime focus of politics ― for all of our sakes.

About this title

About the Author

After training as a research psychologist and lecturing in a number of Australian universities, Carmen Lawrence entered Western Australian state politics in 1986. She served as Education Minister and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs before becoming Australia's first woman premier and treasurer in 1990. She shifted to federal politics in 1994 and was appointed Minister for Human Services & Health and Minister assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women. In opposition, Dr Lawrence has held several shadow portfolios including the Environment; Industry, Innovation and Technology; Reconciliation, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Affairs; the Arts; and Status of Women. Dr Lawrence became the first popularly elected president of the Australian Labor Party in 2004.

Review

Fear and Politics 'is an indictment of the way politicians in Australia have used fear campaigns to maintain power. It's a call for a better way of doing things.'

(James Massola Australian Catholics)

‘Lawrence is an astute politician and one of the most articulate members of the Australian parliament ... It’s a timely message in a gutsy and thoughtful book.’

(John Button Sydney Morning Herald)

‘This book is relevant, insightful and timely. It highlights why Lawrence is one of the few politicians who can still provide an optimistic alternative, some promise and vision.’

(National Indigenous Times)

'Overall, Carmen Lawrence argues compellingly for socially just policies and practices concerning race relations in Australia ... This book would be a useful read for tertiary students and academics of politics and cultural studies.'

(Dr Nahid Kabir, Author, Muslims in Australia Australian Journal of Politics and History)

'This is a book that will make you think seriously about the relationship between ends and means in politics.'

(Geoff Gallop Australian Book Review)

'Lawrence draws effectively on her academic background to delineate the psychology of fear politics and to ground it firmly in the material circumstances of global politics today.'

(Martin Hirst Courier Mail)

‘Lawrence is insightful in pointing out fear’s dangers and commendable in her desire for a greater acceptance of others, more rational debate, the preservation of democratic principles, and for a social outlook defined by a desire for justice and a spirit of optimisim.’

(Martin Crotty Courier Mail)

'The catastrophes of Nazism, the Holocaust and Soviet-style communism - our modern-day prophesies and portents of apocalypse - convinced them that inside every human breast are demons awaiting the trumpet of unreason to be set free. Carmen Lawrence's new book Fear and Politics is one of the more measured and thoughtful products of this grand emotional-political outpouring.'

(David Burchell The Australian Literary Review)

Edition details

• Publisher: Scribe Publications Pty Ltd.
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1920769870
• ISBN 13: 9781920769871
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 144