Ian Tregenza | Macquarie University (original) (raw)
Papers by Ian Tregenza
History of Political Thought, 2003
Reason, Religion and the Australian Polity, 2019
In her study of the Australian Liberals, Judith Brett (2003) points to a deep conceptual shift th... more In her study of the Australian Liberals, Judith Brett (2003) points to a deep conceptual shift that has taken place in the meaning of citizenship, and political culture more generally, over the past century. Where today citizenship is generally conceived in individualistic and passive terms and as connected with a series of rights and entitlements owed to us by the state, in the first half of the twentieth century the prevailing understanding of citizenship was active, communal and tied up with notions of service, obligation and duty. The earlier conception on which Australian Liberals drew was, according to Brett, ‘as much moral as political […] The good citizen was not just someone who fulfilled their political rights and obligations, the good citizen was also a good person and their fulfilment of their citizenship obligations was but an aspect of this goodness’ (Brett, 2003, 58). Moreover, morality here should not be equated with adherence to a set of values, as is so much of the...
Review(s) of 'The passion of politics: The role of ideology and political theory in Australia... more Review(s) of 'The passion of politics: The role of ideology and political theory in Australia', by Lindy Edwards, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 2013, 244 pages, ISBN 9781742377780.4 page(s
Journal of Religious History, 2014
Religion after Secularization in Australia
Journal of Religious History, 2014
The interwar years saw the initiation of a number of important periodicals that reflected the eme... more The interwar years saw the initiation of a number of important periodicals that reflected the emerging vitality of public intellectual life in Australia. One such publication was The Morpeth Review, a quarterly that appeared between the years 1927 and 1934. Edited by three Anglican intellectuals — E. H. Burgmann, Roy Lee, and A. P. Elkin — it included contributions from prominent historians, political scientists, anthropologists, cultural critics, and theologians. Though its range of concerns was broad, it was guided by a basic vision of intellectual and social life that aimed at reconciling the conflicting elements of modernity. Such conflicts included the divide between the world of work and the family, the divide between classes, between nations, and between church and state, or more broadly, between the secular and the religious spheres. This article will suggest that in the endeavour to reconcile such competing elements The Morpeth Review expressed a kind of political theology that was modernist in inspiration (welcoming science and the critical consciousness) and drew on several overlapping traditions of thought including liberal Anglicanism, Christian socialism, and British idealism, all of which rejected the modern tendency to compartmentalise life and with it to relegate religion to the private sphere.
Labour History, 2012
Addressing a Labor party conference in 1908 Andrew Fisher claimed that ‘We are all Socialists now... more Addressing a Labor party conference in 1908 Andrew Fisher claimed that ‘We are all Socialists now and indeed the only qualifi cation you hear from anybody is probably that he is “not an extreme socialist”’. Despite this proclamation, the far-reaching reforms implemented by the second Fisher government of 1910-13 were of a piece with the earlier initiatives of Deakin’s liberal governments. Moreover, Fisher’s attempts to reconcile class antagonisms had much in common with the new liberalism of the period. It was common for many social liberals up to and including F.W. Eggleston to distinguish between good and bad forms of socialism, and for some Labor fi gures (such as H.V. Evatt) to claim the legacy of Australian liberalism for the labour movement. This paper explores the relationship between new liberalism and state socialism in the decades before the class divide came to dominate the Australian party system.
Contemporary Political Theory, 2002
are two of the most prominent critics of rationalism in politics. They also both draw heavily on ... more are two of the most prominent critics of rationalism in politics. They also both draw heavily on the work of Thomas Hobbes. This paper connects these themes and indicates that Oakeshott's and Schmitt's concerns about rationalism are reflected in their writings on Hobbes, especially in their use of the idea of myth. Notwithstanding certain connections between their understanding of, and concerns about, modern rationalism, comparing Oakeshott and Schmitt through their readings of Hobbes helps to elucidate the more important differences between their political theories as a whole. Using Oakeshott's own terminology, this paper suggests that the differences between the two theorists can be understood as a difference between a 'politics of faith' (Schmitt) and a 'political of scepticism' (Oakeshott). Where Schmitt turned to Hobbes to find a political theology to combat the forces of liberal scepticism and ground the practice of modern authority, Oakeshott drew from Hobbes the idea F often associated with liberalism F that authority arises from a scepticism about the possibility of finding such a foundation. The paper concludes with the observation that the risks attending the politics of faith, as Schmitt's experience attests, are more severe than those of scepticism.
The Cambridge Companion to Oakeshott
23 page(s
Journal of Religious History
Reason, Religion and the Australian Polity
Australian Journal of Political Science, 2003
© 2003 by Blackwell Publishers Ltd a Blackwell Publishing company 350 Main Street, Maiden, MA 021... more © 2003 by Blackwell Publishers Ltd a Blackwell Publishing company 350 Main Street, Maiden, MA 02148-5018, USA 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK 550 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia Kurfurstendamm 57, 10707 Berlin, Germany The ...
Reason, Religion and the Australian Polity, 2019
Policy: a journal of public policy and ideas, 2013
Review(s) of: The passion of politics: The role of ideology and political theory in Australia, by... more Review(s) of: The passion of politics: The role of ideology and political theory in Australia, by Lindy Edwards, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 2013, $35, 244 pages, ISBN 9781742377780.
History of Political Thought, 2003
Reason, Religion and the Australian Polity, 2019
In her study of the Australian Liberals, Judith Brett (2003) points to a deep conceptual shift th... more In her study of the Australian Liberals, Judith Brett (2003) points to a deep conceptual shift that has taken place in the meaning of citizenship, and political culture more generally, over the past century. Where today citizenship is generally conceived in individualistic and passive terms and as connected with a series of rights and entitlements owed to us by the state, in the first half of the twentieth century the prevailing understanding of citizenship was active, communal and tied up with notions of service, obligation and duty. The earlier conception on which Australian Liberals drew was, according to Brett, ‘as much moral as political […] The good citizen was not just someone who fulfilled their political rights and obligations, the good citizen was also a good person and their fulfilment of their citizenship obligations was but an aspect of this goodness’ (Brett, 2003, 58). Moreover, morality here should not be equated with adherence to a set of values, as is so much of the...
Review(s) of 'The passion of politics: The role of ideology and political theory in Australia... more Review(s) of 'The passion of politics: The role of ideology and political theory in Australia', by Lindy Edwards, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 2013, 244 pages, ISBN 9781742377780.4 page(s
Journal of Religious History, 2014
Religion after Secularization in Australia
Journal of Religious History, 2014
The interwar years saw the initiation of a number of important periodicals that reflected the eme... more The interwar years saw the initiation of a number of important periodicals that reflected the emerging vitality of public intellectual life in Australia. One such publication was The Morpeth Review, a quarterly that appeared between the years 1927 and 1934. Edited by three Anglican intellectuals — E. H. Burgmann, Roy Lee, and A. P. Elkin — it included contributions from prominent historians, political scientists, anthropologists, cultural critics, and theologians. Though its range of concerns was broad, it was guided by a basic vision of intellectual and social life that aimed at reconciling the conflicting elements of modernity. Such conflicts included the divide between the world of work and the family, the divide between classes, between nations, and between church and state, or more broadly, between the secular and the religious spheres. This article will suggest that in the endeavour to reconcile such competing elements The Morpeth Review expressed a kind of political theology that was modernist in inspiration (welcoming science and the critical consciousness) and drew on several overlapping traditions of thought including liberal Anglicanism, Christian socialism, and British idealism, all of which rejected the modern tendency to compartmentalise life and with it to relegate religion to the private sphere.
Labour History, 2012
Addressing a Labor party conference in 1908 Andrew Fisher claimed that ‘We are all Socialists now... more Addressing a Labor party conference in 1908 Andrew Fisher claimed that ‘We are all Socialists now and indeed the only qualifi cation you hear from anybody is probably that he is “not an extreme socialist”’. Despite this proclamation, the far-reaching reforms implemented by the second Fisher government of 1910-13 were of a piece with the earlier initiatives of Deakin’s liberal governments. Moreover, Fisher’s attempts to reconcile class antagonisms had much in common with the new liberalism of the period. It was common for many social liberals up to and including F.W. Eggleston to distinguish between good and bad forms of socialism, and for some Labor fi gures (such as H.V. Evatt) to claim the legacy of Australian liberalism for the labour movement. This paper explores the relationship between new liberalism and state socialism in the decades before the class divide came to dominate the Australian party system.
Contemporary Political Theory, 2002
are two of the most prominent critics of rationalism in politics. They also both draw heavily on ... more are two of the most prominent critics of rationalism in politics. They also both draw heavily on the work of Thomas Hobbes. This paper connects these themes and indicates that Oakeshott's and Schmitt's concerns about rationalism are reflected in their writings on Hobbes, especially in their use of the idea of myth. Notwithstanding certain connections between their understanding of, and concerns about, modern rationalism, comparing Oakeshott and Schmitt through their readings of Hobbes helps to elucidate the more important differences between their political theories as a whole. Using Oakeshott's own terminology, this paper suggests that the differences between the two theorists can be understood as a difference between a 'politics of faith' (Schmitt) and a 'political of scepticism' (Oakeshott). Where Schmitt turned to Hobbes to find a political theology to combat the forces of liberal scepticism and ground the practice of modern authority, Oakeshott drew from Hobbes the idea F often associated with liberalism F that authority arises from a scepticism about the possibility of finding such a foundation. The paper concludes with the observation that the risks attending the politics of faith, as Schmitt's experience attests, are more severe than those of scepticism.
The Cambridge Companion to Oakeshott
23 page(s
Journal of Religious History
Reason, Religion and the Australian Polity
Australian Journal of Political Science, 2003
© 2003 by Blackwell Publishers Ltd a Blackwell Publishing company 350 Main Street, Maiden, MA 021... more © 2003 by Blackwell Publishers Ltd a Blackwell Publishing company 350 Main Street, Maiden, MA 02148-5018, USA 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK 550 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia Kurfurstendamm 57, 10707 Berlin, Germany The ...
Reason, Religion and the Australian Polity, 2019
Policy: a journal of public policy and ideas, 2013
Review(s) of: The passion of politics: The role of ideology and political theory in Australia, by... more Review(s) of: The passion of politics: The role of ideology and political theory in Australia, by Lindy Edwards, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 2013, $35, 244 pages, ISBN 9781742377780.
The Oxford Handbook of Nineteenth Century Christian Thought, 2017
Much nineteenth-century political theory was preoccupied with relations between state and Church.... more Much nineteenth-century political theory was preoccupied with relations between state and Church. This chapter examines some of the leading European theories of Church and state, many of which influenced and reflected broader public debates and institutional developments. In response to the French Revolution and to a series of liberal and democratic reforms various attempts were made to renew the Church by emphasizing its role as the spiritual embodiment of the nation. While in some contexts, such as France, this would provoke a secular reaction and ultimately a separation of Church and state, elsewhere increasing religious pluralization would generate pluralist state forms and corresponding theories of the plural state. The central themes addressed here include: Ultramontanism to liberal Catholicism in France; the Hegelian theory of the state; liberal Anglicanism and the broad church movement; and theories of the plural state from the 1890s to the First World War.
In contemporary political discourse the categories 'secular' and 'religion' have come to occupy a... more In contemporary political discourse the categories 'secular' and 'religion' have come to occupy an increasingly prominent role in shaping social arrangements and marking the boundaries of political legitimacy. While there might be some marginal disagreement over the use of these terms, a particular range of meanings has come to prevail. The 'secular' demarcates a neutral public sphere governed by institutions and forms of reasoning that are putatively non-controversial and (potentially) available to all. As its binary 'other', religion is all that secularism is not; concerned with a realm of 'private' belief and resting on forms of understanding ('revelation') or authority (scripture, tradition) that are beyond the scope of public reason. The secular has come to be identified with the 'real', the 'natural', or the 'rational' while religion is by definition the 'unreal', the 'supernatural' ('invented') or the 'non/irrational'. A substantial body of contemporary political theory and international relations analysis has echoed these understandings, invoking the terms without giving much thought to their history or the assumptions that they contain. There has been a tendency to assume that even if these are inventions of the modern West, they are nevertheless universally applicable categories enabling us both to describe social and political realities as well as providing us with a set of normative principles for measuring political legitimacy. A very particular understanding of the secular has come to frame all discussion of the political-religious order, yet as one revisionist international relations scholar has argued, this " rigid secular/religious divide stabilizes particular, historically contingent, and often hegemonic definitions of both politics and religion. " 1
What does it mean to say that Australia has a secular state? This is the most comprehensive histo... more What does it mean to say that Australia has a secular state? This is the most comprehensive history of the concept of the secular as it emerged and evolved in Australia. It will be of interest to scholars working in church-state relations, the history of ideas, the history of religion and empire, and Australian history.