Rational argument and coercion have no place in Australian society

Social emotional chaos is the result of the Labor government’s loss of control of the illusion of its inventions.

Since it was elected in 2007 it has come up with some pretty good inventions – schemes that are designed to rupture the structure of Australian society and to drag it out of its illusory frame.

The problem for the government is that it is trying to run three strategies at once and only one of them has real value.

It runs its rational argument strategy and its coercive strategy at the same time as treasurer Wayne Swan and others attempt a persuasive strategy based on the rhetoric of presentation.

Wayne Swan told us that we avoided the global financial crisis because of good fiscal management: a persuasive rather than rational strategy as there was no rational evidence for this statement.

In making such a persuasive statement Swan set up a good base for building further deep rupturing policies.

It was not to be. And it was not a matter of staying on message as many commentators have suggested. The fatal flaw was built in to the system.

The government invented good policies but the policies were never allowed to stick to the original formula and to be the subject of a persuasive communication strategy with roots in rhetorical presentation.

The communications strategies turned on rational argument (pink batts, computers in schools boatpeople, gay marriage) or coercion (carbon tax, plain packaging for tobacco).

Australian society is filled with illusion rather than reality. Bashing us with reality was never going to have the desired effect.

The turnaround for the government came with the delivery of payments before July that were designed to offset the increases families and workers would pay when the carbon tax comes into effect.

A persuasive strategy, bubbling over with rhetorical presentation, won the battle.

Most inventions require a good dose of illusion to make them palatable.

If the Gillard government wants to win the next election it would do well to lose the rational and the coercive and stick with the illusory. It’s what we want.