Scholars often describe Australian politics as being a competition between Labor and non-Labor. The implication being that what holds the right-wing of Australian politics together is its shared opposition to the labour movement and its political arm, the Labor Party.

Historically, the non-Labor side of Australian politics has formed and re-formed four times, finding its most successful incarnation in the Liberal Party of Australia (1944 - Present).

However, if recent polling is to be believed, the Liberal Party's glory days are over. Right-wing populism has finally reached Australia's shores. If an election were held today, One Nation would become the second-biggest party and primary opposition to the Labor Party.

To make sense of this profound historical shift, I interviewed Professor Emeritus Judith Brett, who has written several acclaimed books studying Australian liberalism. We discuss the early history of Australian liberalism, its roots in Protestantism, and the gradual erosion of class-based politics in Australia.

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What is post-liberalism, that strange ideology which unites figures as disparate as JD Vance, Patrick Deneen, Maurice Glasman, and Adrian Vermeule? Political theorist Paul Kelly joins Ideas Matter to help make sense of post-liberalism, as well as expose some of its internal contradictions.

Paul Kelly is a political theorist at the London School of Economics, and author of several books - including his most recent publication: Against Post-Liberalism (2025) published by Polity Press.

You can follow Paul Kelly on Bluesky at @pjthinker.bsky.social

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Follow the host, Louis Devine, on Bluesky @louissdevine

Reach out via email: ideasmatterpod@gmail.com

The Western world has had a catastrophic experience with difference. Colonialism, racism and imperialism are all uniquely Western phenomena, at least according to today's guest, Professor Shuchen Xiang. China, conversely, has an alternative history - one that embraces and assimilates difference. This is China's cosmopolitan tradition.

Shuchen Xiang is Mount Hua Professor of Philosophy at Xidian University, China. I interviewed her about her latest book, Chinese Cosmopolitanism: The History and Philosophy of an Idea (2023) published by Princeton University Press.

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You can contact the show via email, at ideasmatterpod@gmail.com, or follow the host on Bluesky (@louissdevine) or Instagram (@ideasmatterpod).