The Lucky Country? Reinventing Australia

by Ian Lowe

Can we reinvent the Lucky Country? Fifty years ago author Donald Horne described Australia as ‘a lucky country run by second-rate people’, adding that our leaders are mostly unaware of events that surround them. The good fortune continued when our wide brown land proved to contain bountiful resources of saleable minerals, allowing successive generations of second-rate leaders to create an illusion of economic progress by liquidating those assets. But a crisis is approaching, driven by irresponsible encouragement of population growth rates typical of poor developing countries. In this polemic work, Ian Lowe will assess the state of Australia and whether we can retain our status of the Lucky Country.

Genres: Australia, Politics, Nonfiction

252 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2016

About the author

Ian Lowe is emeritus professor of science, technology and society at Griffith University and president of the Australian Conservation Foundation. He studied engineering and science at the University of New South Wales and earned his doctorate in physics from the University of York. In 1991 he gave the ABC’s Boyer Lectures. He is the author of many books, including A Big Fix and Living in the Hothouse.

Reviews

[Rupert Hogan-Turnbull]

Fuck you Pat.

[Kerry]

This was really good. I should have read it earlier as the characters have changed a bit but sadly the policies haven't. Excellent summary of the major issues facing Australia at the moment, and the horrible failure of our politics to provide any leadership into the 21st Century. Hopefully next month's election will see a change of government, but whether this will mean a change of direction remains to be seen. Certainly it is hard to imagine anything as bad as the last six years! Excellent read.

[Camille Barr]

An absolute must read. And to quote Ian Lowe himself "the future is not somewhere we are going, it is something we are creating" (p231). This book will make you ask the questions, What type of future do we want? and Are our political leaders providing the policies that will make for a sustainable or even viable future?
It provides the logic and reasoning of science in an accessible thought provoking manner, and best of all it provides education.

[Stacie]

A book reviewing the Australian progress toward remaining or re-becoming a lucky country 50 years after a framework was laid out? And no progress with worse environmental outcomes. The world - us humans - is not just getting it.

[Neil Titterington]

Excellent, comprehensive and accessible guide to the politics, economics and environment of modern Australia. I would recommend this to anyone who would like to understand more about the challenges that face Australia (and other western, neoliberal economies) in the 21st century. The case for change is presented in a compelling and yet unemotive manner. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

[Liam]

A very accessible and comprehensive guide to the last 50 years on environmental policy in Australia, framed by the writings of David Horne's 'The Lucky Country'. Lowe's somewhat isolationist solutions to shared global issues occasionally conflicted with his own writing, however I'd still recommend this book to anyone with an interest in Australian society, policy, and the environment.

[Trena]

The book every Australian should read. It is a comprehensive guide of the history and most likely the future of this great land.ours to save if we choose wisely