Tristan,

"Or is the idea of a mixed economy somehow 'extreme' - when you see banks profiteering, and insurance companies ripping off families whose lives were destroyed by the floods?"

Have you any proof of this. The government has tried and failed, with the banks, and surprise surprise, the insurance companies wouldn't sell flood insurance to houses built in the flood zones by a cash hungry labor government.

A mixed economy is code for heavy handed socialist meddling, which has a recent record of chronic failures.

Spindoc; I was responding to a personal calling themselves "
"imajulianutter"; And if you look back to their comments you'll find I'm responding to what they said rather than 'drifting off topic'.

Run out of responses for today now, though...

If I thought it was a typo, I wouldn't have mentioned it. Rigour is necessary in both thought and expression. Both are sadly missing here.

Tristan as a student with no economics background is reduced to spouting leftist dogma rather than reasoned debate.

And he should try being a tad apologetic rather than his pathetic attempt at being apodictic.

Tristan you're from the cloistered world of 'leftie academia' and making a slew from the cloistered profession of teaching.

You are no more in touch with the 'people' and their aspirations than all the labor membership...combined.

Time for a good lay down and a bex Tristan.

What are you going to do when the Labor Party finally and thankfully implodes? Have a read of what Wran has to say and you'll understand the inevitability of that... are you going to attach yourself to Malcolm Turnbull?

I think we are dealing with something very strange in this “Tristan” phenomena and it needs more scrutiny. The more we challenge and interrogate, the more obtuse it becomes.

I particularly liked him using his last post up to tell us he has no posts left?

Perhaps he has run out of catch phrases. Perhaps that’s why he’s gone off topic.

I previously likened Tristan to “a party balloon with a leak, slowly deflating as it circulates the room going eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! But it’s more annoying than that.

Looking at his article we can identify “noble and sweeping goals”. A sense of anxiety is created to which we are offered “structure and certainty”. There is a very strong message of alienation that is resolved by a creating a sense of “community”, I hear a genuine sense of impotence which is replace by “solidarity directed by all-knowing leaders”.

Other identifiable traits include:

Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged.
Elitists, claiming a special, exalted status.
Polarized us-versus-them mentality.
Crisis Creation, provide simple answers to the confusion they, themselves, create.
Opposer Warnings.
Guilt and Fear, dwelling on sinful nature.
Critical thinking is discouraged.
Absolutism.
Shoot the messenger.
Obsessiveness regarding orthodoxy.
Persecution complex.
Loss of spontaneity and sense of humor.
Loaded languaging (characterized by “thought-terminating clichés).
Rejection of rational analysis.
Wishful thinking,

Australians might not be able to explain “languaging” but I suspect most are aware of it and are concerned by it. Perhaps this growing sense of unease is isolating the ALP from the electorate? Tristan beware.