Category Archives: Information

Evaluation is not a thing

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Nicholas Gruen

An earlier version of this piece was published last week on the Mandarin. Because the idea I have called “the Evaluator General” is several ideas knitted together to try to resolve a number of dilemmas, it comes with numerous implications … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Critique, Economics and public policy, Information, Innovation | 1 Comment

Info-philanthropy: a small cost for a big benefit

Posted on May 5, 2020 by Nicholas Gruen

As part of the Government 2.0 Taskforce in 2009 I coined the term ‘info-philanthropy’ though someone may have coined it before me and the Taskforce proposed that it qualify as a head of philanthropy. I don’t think any changes have been … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Critique, Democracy, Economics and public policy, Information, Web and Government 2.0 | 5 Comments

Defending independence in the age of deep spin

Posted on February 9, 2020 by Nicholas Gruen

pic.twitter.com/QhTWvcY4Ke — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 6, 2020 If you know anything about the latest State of the Union Address, you know that after Donald Trump had handed Nancy Pelosi his speech as if she were his secretary when … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Critique, Democracy, Information, IT and Internet, Media, Sortition and citizens’ juries | 4 Comments

A recent presentation on ‘Making an impact’

Posted on December 10, 2019 by Nicholas Gruen

Here’s a presentation I gave to a recent Government Economists’ Conference in Canberra. Like some other reflections of my book launching years (only some of which have been preserved for posterity),1 it tries to describe how I go about thinking about economics. … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Critique, Economics and public policy, Information, Philosophy | 2 Comments

PATRICIA EDGAR. The Circus that has been Government Policy on the ABC for Forty Years

Posted on June 28, 2018 by Nicholas Gruen

Cross-posted from John Menadue’s Pearls and Irritations. The ABC has been an extraordinarily resilient organisation. It has withstood management and Board upheavals, survived remorseless budget cuts and harassment. But the current attacks on staff and on its role are as … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Critique, Democracy, Films and TV, History, Information, IT and Internet, Journalism, Media | 2 Comments

Our countries need us.

Posted on February 24, 2018 by Paul Frijters

Humanity is at a high point. What our ancestors dreamed of is slowly becoming a reality: a world without hunger in which the vast majority of mankind live peaceful and long lives. We are not there yet, but in Europe, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Critique, Democracy, Economics and public policy, Education, Ethics, History, Inequality, Information, Life, Literature, Philosophy, Political theory, Politics - international, Politics - national, Religion, Science, Social Policy, Society | 10 Comments

How to tax the platform economy?

Posted on February 2, 2018 by Paul Frijters

In the engine room of nation states, ie the tax departments, the coming battle with platform providers is taking shape. Uber, airbnb, facebook, linkedin, ebay, jobseek, and a myriad of specialised platform providers facilitate micro-trades that are largely untaxed by … Continue reading →

Posted in Death and taxes, Economics and public policy, Employment, Information, Innovation, Intellectual Monopoly Privileges, Intellectual Property, IT and Internet, Law, Political theory, Politics - international, Politics - national, Public and Private Goods, regulation, Social | 20 Comments