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Our obsession with self is destroying our communities

Row of three soft drink cans in bright colours each with a letter to spell out the word 'pop'.

9 November 2010 - Melbourne

John Donne wrote that, “No man is an island, entire of itself ... any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee”.

Yet, does this sentiment hold true in the modern world where the emphasis is on individual rights, self-empowerment, self-improvements and the individual tailoring of nearly every aspect of life? In such circumstances do the bonds of community risk withering for want of care and use?

Alternatively, is community over-rated? Do we hold a romantic view of communal life – conveniently forgetting the prying neighbour and the pressure for conformity from the herd? Is a focus on the self, the source of liberty?

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    • Speakers

    For:

    • Tony Wheeler was born in Britain but grew up in Pakistan, the West Indies and the USA. He and his wife Maureen are founders of Lonely Planet Publications which has grown to become the world's largest independent guidebook publisher with more than 500 titles in print, over 500 staff and offices in London and Oakland, as well as the head office in Melbourne. Though Lonely Planet is now majority owned by BBC-Worldwide, Tony is still closely involved with the company and regularly travels to check out ther books and other travel products, investigate new travel possibilities or simply to experience something new. In early 2009 he filmed the Laos and Alaska programes for The Roads Less Travelled series with National Geographic. He and Maureen are supporters of the Wheeler Centre for Books Writing and Ideas, through a substantial endowment.

    Against:

    • Rt Hon Robert Doyle is the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Chairman of Melbourne Health, principal of the business consultancy Nous Group and former leader of the Victorian Liberal Party.

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    Chair:

    Dr Simon Longstaff is Executive Director of St James Ethics Centre. Simon spent five years studying and working as a member of Magdalene College, Cambridge. Having won scholarships to study at Cambridge, he read for the degrees of Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy. He was inaugural President of The Australian Association for Professional & Applied Ethics and is a Director of a number of companies. He is a Fellow of the World Economic Forum and a member of the International Advisory Committee of the Foreign Policy Association, based in New York. Simon has been Executive Director of St James Ethics Centre since shortly after it was founded.