Author(s): David Kemp

Politics

David Kemp's masterly account of the story of Australian liberalism after MenziesConsent of the People- Human Dignity through Freedom and Equality 1966-2021 explores how Australia's founding Enlightenment ideals were embodied in democratic institutions and shared values, and shaped into a unique national liberalism. Despite intense partisan loyalties, a politics of unequal power, and conservative and radical resistance, inequality was addressed and personal freedom strengthened. This final book in David Kemp's landmark five-volume Australian Liberalism series examines the role of liberal ideals in the legacies of prime ministers from Harold Holt to Malcolm Turnbull and the significance of challenges to the liberal project arising in response to the pandemic of 2020-21.It shows how reform urgency led to the nation's greatest political crisis in 1975, how prime ministers Fraser and Hawke struggled to manage an economy dominated by powerful union, business and global interests, how during seventeen crucial years Keating and Howard led one of the nation's greatest reform eras, and how social reform continued despite the leadership instability of the post-Howard era. In Consent of the People Kemp assesses political parties as the instruments of reform, highlighting the dangers of factionalism and loss of purpose. He examines how an international revival of liberal thought and rising levels of education revolutionised Australian society and politics, creating a moral-and moralistic-ruling class. In a remarkable half-century, Australian political parties and their leaders contested the impacts of government policies on personal freedom, on the distribution of political influence and power, and on wealth and opportunity. Throughout this period, Australians strove, with growing success, to achieve their dreams.