Writer
Hugh Mackay
Hugh Mackay is a social psychologist with a 60-year career in social research. He is the author of 22 books including his latest, The Kindness Revolution.
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How liars and bullies can win elections
I’ve met them; you’ve met them. You can find them in the corporate world, in academia, in the public service, in publishing, the media, the church … and, of course, in politics. The bullies who get away with it because of their capacity to turn on the charm when required. The barefaced liars who mask Continue reading »
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How an influx of independents could change parliament for the better.( A repost from November 4, 2021)
Voters’ disillusionment is much deeper than the current crop of leaders. There is something wrong with the system itself. Continue reading »
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How an influx of independents could change parliament for the better
Voters’ disillusionment is much deeper than the current crop of leaders. There is something wrong with the system itself. Continue reading »
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Who cares what the ‘focus groups’ say?
As we brace ourselves for a looming federal election campaign, it’s likely we’re going to be treated to another unedifying demonstration of why politics should not be treated like the marketing of commercial brands. Continue reading »
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Scott Morrison-No compassion, and no marketing skill either?
When Scott Morrison became prime minister, two dimensions of his persona seemed potentially positive: a Christian faith that might have illuminated his leadership with kindness and compassion, to say nothing of integrity, and a widely-touted marketing background (‘Scotty from Marketing’) that might have lifted the standard of political communication and inspired some brilliance in government Continue reading »
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What if climate change is merely seen as ‘God’s will’?
The line between faith and fatalism can be blurry, but it raises an important question for a Pentecostal prime minister leading a nation that is fast becoming a global outlier on the subject of energy policy. Continue reading »
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HUGH MACKAY: How will widespread social isolation change us?
Social isolation is hardly a new problem for us: it has been high on the list of concerns for social scientists and health professionals for many years. But the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing us to confront the potential for loneliness on an unprecedented scale. Continue reading »
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HUGH MACKAY. What kind of society do we want to become?
Australia Day is widely regarded as a chance to celebrate what it means to be Australian. Perhaps, this year, we might turn the national day into a time of sombre reflection, and ask: are we the kind of society we want to be? Continue reading »
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HUGH MACKAY. A Culture of Compassion (Edited extract of Australia Day Address)
We humans are, by nature, social beings who need each other. We need the sense of belonging to communities that sustain, nurture, support and protect us and even give us our sense of personal identity – you can’t make sense of who you are without a social context. Continue reading »
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HUGH MACKAY, FRANCES RUSH. Is the “Australian solution” catching on?
“The US president is indifferent to human rights.” That was the banner headline on the front page of France’s Le Monde newspaper last week, as if it were news. Donald Trump has amply demonstrated that indifference, and not only in the context of his fantasy wall along the Mexican border. But he is now being Continue reading »
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TONY DOHERTY. Review of Hugh Mackay’s “Australia Reimagined – Towards a compassionate, less anxious society”.
Hugh Mackay has spent almost his entire working life asking Australians about what makes us tick, what are our basic concerns, what gives us hope and meaning, why do we do what we do? His acute observation, honed by the skills of solid social research, has illuminated his readers for at least fifty years. His analysis Continue reading »
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SUSANNE ROBERTS. Hugh Mackay reimagines a more compassionate Australia (Book Review)
Esteemed social researcher Hugh Mackay’s latest book Australia Reimagined: Towards a more compassionate, less anxious society is exquisitely timed. As the daily headlines tell of bank and church scandals and failures in the health, education and housing systems, many of us are asking what went wrong and are increasingly preoccupied with searching for solutions. We Continue reading »
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HUGH MACKAY. Another kind of deficit
Here’s a quick Christmas quiz. (Warning: it’s not a very merry quiz.) Continue reading »
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HUGH MACKAY. What the Census really said about religion.
When the 2016 Census results were released, anti-religionists and anti-theists worked themselves into a lather of excitement about the apparent increase in the number of Australians ticking the ‘No religion’ box. In the five years since 2011, that figure rose from 21.8 to 29.6 percent. Or did it? Continue reading »
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HUGH MACKAY. The days of political stability and vision are gone.
From 1949 to 2007, Australian federal governments were defeated at the polls on only five occasions. Voters’ reluctance to rock the political boat over those six decades was not necessarily a reflection of great satisfaction with politics. Rather it was a symptom of their desire for, at least, stability. A one-term government was unthinkable then. Continue reading »
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HUGH MACKAY. A policy that diminishes us all
Occasionally in a nation’s history, horror over past events triggers a kind of national shame. Germany went through it – is still going through it – in the wake of the Third Reich. South Africa has not yet healed the wounds of apartheid. The US continues to struggle with the evil legacy of white Continue reading »
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HUGH MACKAY. It’s time for a national conscience vote
Whatever this ill-conceived double-dissolution (double disillusion?) election is about, it is clearly not addressing the issue that, more than any other, is redefining what it means to be Australian. Continue reading »
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Hugh Mackay. The Art of Belonging.
We need communities to sustain us, but if those communities are to survive and prosper, we must engage with them and nurture them, writes Hugh Mackay. Aren’t you tired of being told that the deepest truth about human beings is that we are hopelessly selfish by nature? That even acts of apparent altruism are really Continue reading »
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Hugh Mackay. Does every moral lapse make the next one easier?
The political decline of the Abbott government has been remarkable. No other federal government in recent history has fallen from favour so soon after an election, nor languished in the polls so intractably (consistently trailling Labor 47-53 for more than six months). The question is: why? There are at least two answers. The obvious one Continue reading »
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Hugh Mackay. Immoral acts – that’s one way to stop the boats.
“No boats have arrived for 36 days!” That was the recent proud claim of our immigration minister, Scott Morrison, delivered in a tone that suggested we should all cheer such a wonderful accomplishment. In fact, given the strategies employed to achieve this result, we should hang our heads in shame. We are living through a Continue reading »
