In his iconic book, Donald Horne described Australia as 'a lucky country run mainly by second-rate people who share its luck'. He went on to say that we 'live on other people's ideas' and that 'most of our leaders (in all fields) so lack curiosity about the events that surround them that they are often taken by surprise'.
The phrase 'the lucky country' quickly became part of the language, though its message was often misrepresented by people who had not even read the book, or had quickly skimmed through it and missed the irony of the title. Published in 1964, nothing much has changed.
Now, more than five decades later, internationally respected scientist and environmentalist Ian Lowe has added the missing questionmark to the title in a book of his own in which he shows just how little has changed after generations of short-sighted leadership.
In his frank and fearless way, Lowe assesses the state of Australia in four key areas: our environment, population and society, geographical position, and unrelenting pursuit of economic growth. Highlighting that the global economy and the environment are in crisis, Lowe illustrates the need - and the opportunity - to transform Australia into the world-leading model of sustainable development that we have the potential to become. It is a must-read and on my list of books to buy.
In the meantime, I am working my way through a second-hand copy of Donald Horne's "Money Made Us" which I picked up for very little money from Vinnies in the Bay (there's always the chance of finding a gem here and there amongst all the Wilbur Smith and Rosamunde Pilcher dross).
I'm back home after my two hours in the pool this morning, and with the sharemarket having been king-hit once again by world events, it may be a good time to take a nostalgic look back in time in this book from 1976.
