Connor Court Quarterly 16

From Rousseau to the World Economic Forum: Woke Capitalism and the Power of Ideas
Rick Brown
Plus
The Voice - Beware the Shiny Bauble
Robert Katter
Since the political emergence of Donald Trump and the successful referendum in the United Kingdom on leaving the European Union, there has been a focus on the deep-seated divisions within Western societies.
His analysis is based on the proposition that what we are seeing now did not happen overnight and so in part, his essay is a history of the modern evolution of ideas and their transmission.
His story about the foundations of the ideas that drive the cultures of the inner metropolitan suburbs and outer suburbs takes us back more than 200 years to John Jacques Rousseau, who the late Sir Roger Scruton described as 'the first and greatest of the liberal reformers whose impact on modern culture and modern politics has been equalled by no other thinker of the Enlightenment'. It also involves a M. Rousseau contemporary Edmund Burke, the founder of conservatism.
The transmission of these ideas he credits to the creator of cultural hegemony and Communist theoretician Antonio Gramsci, whose ideas and strategy have been sloganised as 'the long march through the institutions'.
He also focuses on the dictatorial mindset of today's élites which is different from their recent predecessors and turns to the attitudes of America's founders who set out to prevent the creation of a fully democratic society and, at one level, to retain real power in the hands of their class.
To complete the picture, he turns a spotlight on Klaus Schwab, the owner of the World Economic Forum, who has persuaded the global business élite to impose management 'dictatorship' through a concept called 'stakeholder management'.
Robbie Katter is a third consecutive generation politician. If, as expected, he is re-elected next year, a Katter will have represented a part of North Queensland for 60 consecutive years. During all that time, the Katters have been vocal and active supporters of Aboriginal people and their advancement. Robbie's grandfather ended segregation in Cloncurry in the 1960s.
Robbie opposes 'The Voice'. His essay is a case of the issues canvassed in Rick Brown's essay: people in the inner metropolitan suburbs in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, including middle-class Aboriginals, pontificating about the best interests of Aboriginals in regional and rural Australia.
He argues that if the 'The Voice' were passed it would not improve the circumstances, opportunities or lifestyles of the Aboriginals with whom he interacts on a daily basis. In fact, he said he could be counter-productive because passing the referendum could provide people with an excuse to say that they had fixed the Aboriginal issues and move on to the next cause.
He also highlights the hypocrisy of politicians who support The Voice, but oppose concrete, practical measures which could provide them with opportunities and improve their lives.
Rick Brown's essay is confronting and challenging. However, there is good news. This year there are signs of green shoots of resistance through consumers applying their power and via élite sports players in the USA, people power in Europe, and most recently, the extraordinary Nigel Farage.
Just as the fact that there are people like Robbie Katter at the coalface gives cause for hope.