On Thursday I joined my old editor at The Australian, Tom Switzer, on his radio show Between The Lines. It was a wide-ranging conversation, from free speech to Donald Trump, the Middle East to the Supreme Court. Along the way, I quoted a favorite expression from Lord Moulton:
85 years ago English judge Lord Moulton, said that human action can be divided into three domains. At one end is the law at the other is free choice and between them is the realm of manners. In this realm Lord Moulton said, "lies a domain in which our actions are not determined by law but in which we are not free to behave in any way we choose. In this domain we act with greater or lesser freedom from constraint, on a continuum that extends from a consciousness of duty through a sense of what is required by public spirit, to good form appropriate in a given situation".
The "realm of manners" is in severe retreat around the west: Everything now is increasingly mandatory or forbidden, and ever more regulated and policed by the state.
You can hear my full conversation with Tom here.
~My earlier appearance this week on the ABC is noted over in the ABC's weekly round-up.
~On Friday I'll be back on the airwaves with Melbourne drivetime legend Tom Elliott at 3AW, live at 3.30pm Australian Eastern Time. Later in the day my Aussie tour continues at the Park Hyatt in Melbourne with Andrew Bolt.
