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Our obsession with self is destroying our communities

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, Lonely Planet, Wheeler Centre

• 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.

Against:

• Details to come

Further details to be announced. Please check back.

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.