Shifting debate of personal freedom spells trouble for Liberals
Under John Howard, the Liberal Party was able to walk both sides of the philosophical street. On “economic” issues they were opposed to government interference in the individual’s “right to choose”, but on “social” issues the Liberals seemed comfortable with the idea that government knew best. The real issues, though, such as whether people should be able to sell their kidneys and whether we should tax alcohol or ban poker machines, will never go away. They are moral issues that might have been concealed by a fake debate about governments versus markets, but they have never been resolved.
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