06 May Book Review: Howard: The Art of Persuasion
Written by Chelsea Dempster
Howard: The Art of Persuasion is collection of sixty-one of Howard’s best speeches from 1995-2016. Covering an array of topics, the book arranges his speeches thematically, under the categories ‘Australia’s Liberal-Conservative Tradition’, ‘Watershed Events and Policy Reforms’ and ‘Economic and Industrial Relations Reform,’ to name a few. This collection of speeches enables you to deepen your knowledge of the party’s position on specific issues, while also offering a broad span of topics to provide breadth, as well as depth, to your understanding of what the Liberal movement fights for. For someone like me, who has only recently started digging into the foundational philosophies of the Liberal movement, this book has offered an incredibly clear, accessible explanation of why the party promotes the ideals that is does.
Importantly, Howard’s speeches were written to address a vast range of people and organisations, many of whom weren’t particularly politically inclined. Howard didn’t always have the luxury of explaining his positions to audiences who were already in full agreement. Consequently, his speeches provide thorough, well-reasoned justifications for the principles and policies that the party champions; justifications that are useful for us to have a good handle on as we continue to promote these principles and policies amongst our generation.
I particularly enjoyed reading Howard’s 1996 Sir Robert Menzies Lecture, titled “The Liberal Tradition: The Beliefs and Values Which Guide the Federal Government.” Howard uses the speech as an opportunity to espouse the ‘enduring values’ which unite the ‘great Australian mainstream’; those amongst our society who ‘do not want their national government to respond to the loudest clamour of the noisiest minority.’ Howard’s speeches reveal his tendency to reflect on the wisdom of the political greats before him and this speech is no exception. Reflecting on Menzies’ extensive contributions to Australian politics, Howard reiterates the values on which the Australian Liberal Party was built: ‘individual freedom, choice, diversity, opportunity, and the importance of strong families and communities as bulwarks against the intrusive power of the state.’ Importantly, Howard makes a point of recognising that Australians’ support for the Liberal Party cannot be taken for granted. As Young Liberals promoting the Liberal movement at the grassroots level, there is much we can learn from Howard’s perspective on the privilege of being involved in Australian politics: ‘it must be earned through keeping faith, through staying in touch, and through continuing to be humbled by the privilege.’
More recently, Howard presented a speech on ‘Politics—The Battle of Ideas’ upon accepting the 2016 Edmund Burke Award from the Alliance of Conservative Reformists in Europe. Howard identifies the urgent need for people to understand that ‘politics above everything else is a battle of ideas,’ so that we may push back against the ‘insidious rise of identity politics.’ Specifically, Howard reflects with apprehension on the ‘creeping political correctness which is restricting free speech’ amongst our society today. He implores people to understand how essential it is that free speech be defended, so that this battle of ideas can continue throughout future generations.
Overall, this collection of speeches is an easy, but worthwhile read for anyone interested in deepening their understanding of Liberal values and seeing how they were articulated time and time again, by one of Australia’s greatest leaders.
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