The Australian Citizen

Description

What holds a country together? Murdoch answers plainly: shared ideas, just laws, and citizens who choose to do right. Beginning with the “social instinct” that draws people into community, he explains government as society’s tool—made, improved, and kept running by ordinary men and women. He distinguishes the legislature, judiciary, and executive; shows how local councils handle roads, health, and water; how the States steward wider responsibilities; and how the Commonwealth manages matters of “common concern.” Throughout, examples and analogies make abstract terms vivid and practical.
Readers finish with more than facts: they gain habits of attention, fair-mindedness, and public spirit—virtues that steady judgment, welcome responsibility, and turn love of country into everyday goodwill.

Content Advisory: 

While The Australian Citizen has some useful information, it is better seen as a historical document. Please be advised that the text contains language, social theories, and racial attitudes of the time that are now harmful and offensive. Examples include:

• Dehumanizing Language: The use of outdated and offensive terms to describe Indigenous and non-European peoples.

• Racial Ideology: Explicit support for the “White Australia” policy and pseudo-scientific theories regarding racial purity.

• Colonial Bias: Paternalistic views toward “subject races” and the dismissal of their right to self-determination.

These views do not reflect modern values and are preserved to help readers understand the ideologies that shaped early 20th-century Australian society, the effects of which we still need to wrestle with today.

A new Civics book is on the way, so if you don’t need something urgently I’d suggest waiting for it.

Additional information

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