T he paradox that titled this forum implies movement towards a new future but admits significant uncertainty about the direction and the final destination. In his 1964 critique, Donald Horne felt that Aus- tralia was still a place where arriving immi- grants and perhaps the whole nation was still “making life anew”. Over half a century later, a fresh and furious impulse of nation building is still underway in Sydney and Melbourne, but there is ample evidence of a Britain-like transition to a post-industrial services economy where China supplies so many of the goods purchased. As an Ameri- can who arrived in Sydney after long periods living in Britain and Shanghai, this author observes a bifurcated society with one half rapidly realising how consumption orien- tation and consumerism are incompatible with the fundamental value many Austral- ians assign to the social amenity of natu- ral beauty, the continent’s uniquely fragile flora and fauna, and the national ‘fair go’. “Towards a prosperous yet sustainable Aus- tralia — What now for the Lucky Country?” It’s a well-aimed question. This author sees a rising generation of young people who reject the consumerism that was imported from America in the ’50s and ’60s. Older societies like Britain, continental Europe and even China are offering new views of a future economic model, the so-called Circular Economy. The ageing architects of 20 th century industry are being overtaken by a new generation of business leaders and consumers who consciously balance ecology with economy and self-convenience with the preservation of the commons.
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