We should be so lucky!

Reflections on the book by Andrew Low

“We should be so lucky”, by Andrew Low, is a great feel-good book to read as we reflect on Australia and what it means to be Australian.

So much of interest in this book … but our 2 key takeaways have been:

Australia’s success hasn’t been purely luck and it is vital that we understand why it is we have been so successful so we don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.

Low‘s contention is that our success is as a consequence of:

world leading institutions
one of the world’s best education systems
Australia’s economic institutions and social resilience – including a openness to trade
Our own special brand of democracy and our commitment to it – including our electoral system, … . AND most importantly –
The Australian people – who we are as people and what makes us unique relative to the citizens of other countries….

Which leads to the second key take away from the book…

The glue, the identification of a suite of values which defines us as Australians – which is not only a cohesive force for us as a people, but has also played such a significant role in the our success.

Low identifies the following traits / values –

Egalitarianism – we aren’t hierarchical and we are almost allergic to deference.
A strong and enduring commitment to giving people a ‘fair go’.
Individualism – making us more merit based that other countries
Indulgence over restraint – we love indulging in the good life
Our Short term focus
A commitment to safety – and avoidance of risk
Competitiveness
Skeptical pragmatism- we have a good sense of smell for rubbish. We are realists – interested in what works, rather than ivory tower theory.

‘We should be so lucky’ is a great read for anyone who is concerned by the directions democracies globally are taking – and don’t want Australia to follow. Low gives plenty of food for thought about how we protect what we have and use our strengths to continue building our success.