The concepts of economic rationalism and market liberalism seem to have been abandoned by the Liberals.
Whatever happened to the term economic rationalist? It wasn’t that long ago that the favourite insult hurled by the left was the badge of honour worn by the right. The arguments were hilarious. “You’re nothing but a self-serving economic rationalist,” sneered your average lefty. “I most certainly am,” your average right-winger would retort. It was one of the few things the left and right could agree on.
Not any more.
The political right in Australia has not just abandoned economic rationalism; it is on the verge of abandoning economics in its entirety.
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