Seems like a reasonable enough analysis of the situation that we are in.
Certainly no worse than the simplistic reductionist garbage promoted by the IPA.
Speaking of voluntarily chosen collective alternatives to the now dominant every-one-for-himself, or the there is the no-such-thing-as-society but only the immediate self interest of every individual and their immediate families I quite like these references which I came across via the American Conservative website. A website which features writers and websites from across the ideological spectrum, including Tomdispatch and James Kunstler A website which makes the usual "conservative" propaganda hacks here in Australia look like adolescent barbarians. Speaking of Kunstler check out his essay 2007 When the Wheels Finally Off (of the air conditioned nightmare)

http://www.platformcoop.net
http://solidarityhall.org

The second site is a conservative Catholic site. I particularly liked their posting on Henry Miller Excerpts On A Traumatized Existence.
Miller was of course one of the early perceptive critics of the intrinsically dehumanizing program of global capitalism, especially via his book The Air Conditioned Nightmare.

Daffy

Ho hum, more lies and anti-human hate propaganda from the socialists still dreaming that unlimited aggression and violent power will usher in a paradise.

When you have bothered to understand what the issues are, you'll be in a position to comment, and not before.

People have not "lost faith in democracy"; they have lost faith in politicians and their (politicians') abuse of democracy.

'Professor' John Hewson? Would that be the same John Hewson who lost the unloseable election? The failed politician now claiming wisdoms and knowledge that he was never able to demonstrate in politics? Sir Michael Marmot? A raving socialist recently paraded on Q&A (get the message?) who blames people's failures, ineptitudes and sheer laziness and sense of entitlement on 'injustices' perpetrated by the evil free enterprise, capitalist system bogey.

Rees himself punts for EVEN MORE regulated working conditions and SUBSTANTIAL welfare. Perhaps he and the people he refers to without revealing what their biases are were all drugged out of their senses during the time such socialist bulldust as they preach now was going down the gurgler for the failed rubbish it was.

Rees's "militarism" is bizarre: "If militarism is regarded as the means of providing security, then $50 billion spent on 12 new submarines and an untold amount on unproven and hugely expensive joint strike fighters might be justified. But if citizens' securuty is obtained by non-violent means - as in educational and job opportunities and the the means of obtaining an affordable home - then expenditure on an arms race fuelled by the fascination with the latest weapons, should be strictly limited". What on earth is he talking about? Defence spending is an essential that has nothing to do with personal "citizens' security...obtained by non -violent means" i.e job security and affordable housing.

As an entrenched academic, Stuart Rees is a menace to democracy, and he does not know the meaning of the word. I don't think that his SMH knockback will be his last. He is well beyond his use-by date.

The authors messiah complex is showing. "Good" people think like this! But the world with its inhabitants is a grubby place. The God of man is self interest.
But popular rage is now the consensus. It's a rage against the set pieces of left wing ideology; with its call for social justice.
Arise Donald Trump! There is panic and hysteria in the streets. It is unjust to oppose justice. God forbid, what will happen now to multiculturalism, gay rights, women's rights, racism?
Who cares?

Hasbeen.

"This one little statement, "the promotion of collective interests over private ones" just about sums this garbage up. The man obviously still believes in communism."
I think that's a case of you putting 2 and 2 together and getting 22.

If you actually look at the context of what he actually wrote, you'll see he was merely making the point that two fairly prominent people who had studied the link between economic conditions and health and social factors had concluded that advancing collective interests was the best way to improve the latter. And one of them is arguing for more democracy as a way of achieving this.

Claiming that amounts to communism is stretching the definition of "communism" far beyond what any self described communist would accept. Certainly the number of people "killed by communism" in China and Eastern Europe is totally irrelevant. The Scandinavian countries would be a far better comparator.

Stuart Rees is just another increasingly irrelevant Social Justice Warrior who hates the free market secular democracy he chooses to live in. And who continues to advocate for a socialist totalitarian tyranny controlled by "intelligent" people like himself, which failed miserably in every society which had the misfortune to ever embrace it. One wonders how many times does socialism have to fail before the "intelligent" academic caste figures out that it never works?

The only surprising thing about Stuart Rees's article, is that he said that the SMH refused to print it. Since the SMH is chock-a-block full of journos who think like Rees, one would have thought he would have been a shoo-in. But I suppose the SMH editor who needs to sell his newspaper to the public has already figured out that too much socialist propaganda, and articles sprouting evangelical moralising and contempt for ordinary people, does have a negative effect on sales. Keep up the good work of telling Australians what morally reprehensible deplorables we are, Stuart. It helps Pauline Hanson, Nigel Farage, and Donald Trump immensely. No one is ever going to accuse Social Justice Warriors of being "popular."

What is this insanity of a "just" society? Is it a society where 50% of armed forces personnel are females? 50% of politicians are female, aboriginal and ethnic? How about "aboriginal only" study rooms and water bubblers in our universities? Crime has a very significant ethic and cultural component, Stuart. Could I suggest that if you and your friends advocated for preventing the importation of those cultural and ethnic groups who are very disproportionately represented in serious crime, it might just win you a bit of support?

Next comes the expected support from Stuart for the right of every person from the third world who hates free speech, free markets, secular democracy, and female equality to just walk into Australia and have the good old Aussie taxpayer keep them forever. You probably love Muslim illegal immigrants , Stuart, because they think like you do. Which is probably why their countries are complete cesspits.