A Free Country: Australians' Search for Utopia 1861-1901 [Australian Liberalism Book 2] by David Kemp

Book Description

Secondhand. Good condition. Ex library copy with no external stickers. No internal stamps. Scratch to front endpage is now covered with a blank ex libris bookplate sticker. White RFID patch on inside back cover. Minor wear to book corners and edges. Dust jacket has some light creasing at edges and spine.

A Free Country: Australians' Search for Utopia, 1861-1901, tells how Australians, inspired by their new democracy, sought to use their freedom to build a society free of social and economic conflict.

As the second book in a landmark five-volume Australian Liberalism series, A Free Country highlights the successes and missteps in the effort to establish the legal and moral foundations for a liberal society in Australia, while examining the ideological battles of the period.

The national politics of twentieth-century Australia had its roots in this period, as utopian dreams of 'social reconstruction' opposed liberal ideals of individual freedom, fostering the concept of 'class wars' and leading to the ongoing involvement of trade unions in politics.

As emerging collective ideas of nationalism, empire, race and class challenged individual rights and threatened to sow domestic and international conflict, liberals succeeded in uniting the six colonies into a single Australian nation founded on liberal principles, and in writing a constitution hailed as the most democratic in the world. (book flap)