tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514488730620284599.post92241185612153499..comments2023-06-01T02:06:19.881-07:00Comments on howdaft: Muldoon VindicatedUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514488730620284599.post-50188770123413045852012-07-08T22:42:00.520-07:002012-07-08T22:42:00.520-07:00Hi Alex
Ans at least he was transparently so - mo...Hi Alex<br /><br />Ans at least he was transparently so - most since have been no better but a lot less use.<br /><br />He was the last PM we had who understood the governance role of the state though perhaps he did struggle somewhat with the concept of democracy - though again perhaps no more so than his successors.DarkHorsehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05400760231991780190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514488730620284599.post-37284634202026124112012-07-08T16:49:58.888-07:002012-07-08T16:49:58.888-07:00Muldoon may have been a sonofabitch, but at least ...Muldoon may have been a sonofabitch, but at least he was our sonofabitch, as it were. Very good point that no government since him has left the country in a stronger position, either in terms of economic position or strategic assets.Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756577987173700191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514488730620284599.post-63818292935108321582012-05-16T02:00:06.002-07:002012-05-16T02:00:06.002-07:00And it needs re-established probably in a more ecl...And it needs re-established probably in a more eclectic form and open to public commentary. I am not defending Muldoon here just making the point that we need to look critically at the past to see what we can learn for the future. Similarly China is no paragon of statehood but it is doing some things right though it is also doing many things wrong. The idea here was to challenge some of the received wisdom about "Think Big" as an exercise in critical evaluation then we can start to think creatively about our future. <br /><br />China is perhaps the best example to look at for what it is doing right and wrong. I suspect that much of what it appears to be doing right at present will quite rapidly turn out to be the wrong thing. But some of those things it is doing are things that we could mimic as survival strategies but not as long term strategies. It is important to be adaptive because we live in a dynamic and non-linear world yet it contains patterns and cycles.<br /><br />One of those odd things about history is that tomorrow will never be the same as yesterday yet much of what will happen has happened before as history repeats - the same show but dressed in different clothes.<br /><br />China will likely prove to be the last of the 20th century societies not the first of the 21st Century. It is mimicking America as it was in the 1960 and may well destroy itself in the process because we no longer live in that reality. Observing this process will provide us with much knowledge that we can apply to our own future planning.<br /><br />It pays not to be one of the herd at times such as this.DarkHorsehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05400760231991780190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514488730620284599.post-75304226238878793852012-05-16T01:37:58.417-07:002012-05-16T01:37:58.417-07:00Muldoon also got rid of the Commission for the Fut...Muldoon also got rid of the Commission for the Future (is that the right name) which was looking a long way out and asking what sort of society do we want. Which was a short sighted thing to do I reckon.Andrew Rnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514488730620284599.post-67859078078251693602012-05-13T02:32:50.537-07:002012-05-13T02:32:50.537-07:00Tx AC Think Big was a substantial and planned res...Tx AC Think Big was a substantial and planned response by Muldoon to the oil shocks of the 70's. Much else in the area of public infrastructure that has happened since was actually planned during that time also - even Transmission Gully. We have been coasting ever since.<br /><br />Your comments have motivated me to expand/expound further on thisDarkHorsehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05400760231991780190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514488730620284599.post-57635433783318183822012-05-10T04:23:15.492-07:002012-05-10T04:23:15.492-07:00Without wishing to be disagreeable, darkhorse, I c...Without wishing to be disagreeable, darkhorse, I cannot dismiss the possibility that it was just coincidence that Muldoon implemented Think Big. Or luck. I'm not old enough to remember, or motivated enough to dig up a biography of Muldoon to do the research, so for now I will run with my prejudices.<br />But that wasn't your only point. The price of energy is rising and there's plenty of good evidence to suggest the trend will continue. As I understand it, Muldoon's legacy would have eased the transition, rather than preventing the need for it. As such, the timing was a critical issue.Armchair Critichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08471331367551108517noreply@blogger.com