Hello. I may be new here, but I've already noticed that "Timkins" and some other people seem to have a sarcastic attitude to women.

I thought that this article was about the decline of governments' ability to provide services in times of need, not about "feminism" and "male suicide".

I basically agree with Ms Cox.

You're right Garra, some people, like Timkins, but not limited to him, do have hobby horses, but if they can link them in some way to the article on which they are commenting, then they get away with it. I think there is a fairly tenuous link between Eva's comments about men and suicide (presumably she was being sarcastic in the passage Timkins quotes), and this article, but there is a link, so Timkins gets away with it.

Eva should not worry too much. Whilst there is a lot of free market rhetoric in our political debates there is very little free market reality. Taxation is at record highs in relative and absolute terms. The state consumes and "allocates" more and more of our resources collectively. Socialism is still on the rise in Australia and neo-liberalism is just a nice idea in books.

I would argue that this increase in statism is the source of decline in both civil society and community. Government displaces not only self-reliance but the inter-dependance based on personal relationships that forms communities. Anonymous dependance does not do much to bind people to their neighbours or their neighbourhood.

Civil society and community is under threat. However it is under threat due to the persistent growth in statism, not neo-liberalism.