Gee,
Who cares about Costello? He's so yesterday. He can be found on yesterday's papers even though he reckons he' free to sing his own song any old time. His retro song is 'I wanna be your man', done in a crooning style. For The Australian it is a now a situation of sitting and watching as tears go by as the children play in the evening of the day. Poor conservatives.

I guess the book will be boring. Costello ain't going to trash Howard is he?

Costello ain't no riverboat gambler on the River Murray Queen. He don't have gambling in his veins.

Clod Hopper Pete is going to fade away unloved. He never was the little red rooster of the Liberal Party

Poor obsolete Costello,
he's so out of time, poor discarded baby. And he thought that he was the first in line.

who wants yesterdays papers?

Have you seen Costello standing in the shadows all alone mumbling a song about how the Liberal Party adores me. I have. In Melbourne's back lanes. The Liberal Party's current song is that 'We love You' and they hope that he loves them too. Fat chance.

Poor Costello.It's been a political life unkind. And he thought that he was a Dandelion who told no lies and was so wise.

Furedi writes:

In recent years consumerism has acquired negative connotations. Numerous cultural commentators including Clive Hamilton argue that it leads to acquisitiveness and greediness, and that it makes people depressed and unsatisfied. Consumption is frequently represented as a threat to the environment and the argument of the happiness crusade about shifting focus from economic wealth to spiritual wellbeing converges with the prevailing ethos of restraint. The sacralisation of happiness is boosted by the growing tendency to idealise the environment. Finally, the happiness crusade can draw on the cultural resources provided by Western society's obsession with psychology and therapy. In a world where the problems of society are continually recast as that of individual psychological deficits, the goal of happiness acquires a redemptive character.

He doesn't seem to understand that utilitarianism, Australia's public philosophy, has as its goal happiness. The core rule/criterion of the utilitarianism to evaluate good from bad is the greatest happiness of the greatest number.

Nan,
nope Costello reckons he's the jumping jack flash of the Liberal Party.

Peter,
the street fighting man of the LIberal Party. That is why they love him so.

trouble is the love of the Liberal Party is like water in the Murray River --it's here, then gone. It pays to have no expectations even though we all need someone to lean/ bleed on, when we are looking for a bit of coke and sympathy.

poor Peter. He's just going to fade away.

But wouldn't he make a great premier of vitoria.

"In recent years consumerism has acquired negative connotations."

He's rejigging Durkeim to fit climate change and self help manuals.

Furedi seem to be rejigging utilitarianism of neo-classical economics as a religion with his talk of "happiness crusade", "sacralisation of happiness" and "redemptive character". Is that Durkheim as well? I thought that he was about religion holding society together.

Furedi writes:

But probably the most important driver of the happiness movement is the powerful mood of moral disorientation that prevails in Western societies. Western culture finds it difficult to give meaning to everyday experience through a language that clarifies what is good and bad or right and wrong. Such a mood of disorientation continually creates a demand for meaning. Layard understands this, which is why he says: "Clearly, I am talking about a movement of moral reform."

Religion has faded and secular Australians have utilitarianism to help them sort out what is right and wrong.The bit about the meaning of what we do is given by happiness.

Furedi continues:

However, it is not so much a moral as a moralising project. The triumph of this movement will not be based on the growth of moral conviction but on the successful application of techniques of behaviour management. Policymakers rely on the institutionalisation of cognitive behavioural therapy, rather than on the clarification of the moral challenges that face us, to make us happy.

Once again the techniques of behaviour management arise out of utilitarianism ---ie Jeremy Bentham.

Durkheim was on about the importance of religion for providing moral guidelines. He worried about normlessness. the stuff about the moral decline of western society is very Durkheim, but he thought that the pursuit of stuff and gadgetry which replaced morality was bad. For Durkheim the pursuit of happiness or a sense of belonging via new and shiny things was pointless and ultimately disappointing.

Furedi's also arguing that we need a strong moral compass, but he's not about to attack consumerism. Same argument, different enemy. If only we'd all quit being relativists and fashion victims we'd rediscover the great moral wellspring that is, what, consumerism? Modernity? It's a circular argument. But if it's either circular or dialectic, and you're a conservative, you have to take circular.

Labor got slapped in the N.T. They will still maybe get up but it is a huge swing.

Les,
got slapped? They've been nearly dumped!

Sorry I meant "Bitch slapped" thats far worse than an ordinary slapping.
So the caravan moves on to W.A now. Predictions anybody?