Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Universities and Research) Share this | Hansard source

A long time ago. Marxists talk about false consciousness. You would be aware of that, Madam Acting Deputy President. They said that the people, the citizens of the country, had to be guided to a correct solution, because the correct answer, the correct choice, they would not understand, they could not appreciate; they had to be guided by the commissars, and they had to be guided by the state. We might think today that is rather elitist. We might even see it as a little condescending, but it underlies much of social democracy today.

Social democrats and labour parties can be particularly condescending; whether it is the dialogue of human rights or freedom of the press, the left is always uncomfortable with vigorous pluralism, with competition, with freedom and with choice. For all the problems of liberalism—and there are many problems with liberalism—we have in the end one of the great confidences, and it is this: our great strength, liberalism's great strength, is to let freedom rip. And they cannot say that. The government does not have the confidence to let freedom rip.

Sometimes, sure, we do it in the economic sphere and it may create a lot of wealth but it sometimes creates inequality. It is not perfect; I am not suggesting it is perfect. But we have the confidence that people make choices and we have the confidence to let freedom rip. The Labor Party will never have that confidence in freedom. We always win that debate. We may lose others but we win that debate. That is liberalism's greatest strength.

We are not utopian. Again, for all our faults, liberals and conservatives are not utopian. We do not believe that mankind is perfectible. We do not believe that the state can shape mankind and make us perfect. We do not believe that. Our side knows that people will make wrong choices. We all accept that. It is part of democracy. It is part of freedom. But we are prepared to live with wrong choices, even bad choices, because they are the price of democracy and they are the price of freedom. Better that people, better that our citizens, or even the press, get it wrong than that the state dictate what is right. It is always far better. And again we can say that with confidence; the Labor Party never can.

As I looked forward to this debate this afternoon I did something that I have not done for a long time. My friend Senator Ludwig would remember this; I pulled out my first speech—that is a long time ago too—because it does reflect on quite compulsive tensions between the Centre Left and the Centre Right. In my first speech I quoted the distinguished British historian Paul Johnson, who you would be aware of, Madam Acting Deputy President. He said:

The experience of our century shows emphatically that Utopianism is never far from gangsterism.

We have learnt that 'the destructive capacity of the individual, however vicious, is small; of the state, however well intentioned, almost limitless'.

When it comes to the crunch, it is better that individuals get it wrong, even that the media get it wrong, than that the state muzzle our right to get it wrong. In the end, that is the price all of us pay for democracy. I say, we say, let freedom rip.