Pyne, Trump and Turnbull walk into a bar...

Yet, ultimately, success is neither competitive, nor a compromise. A harmonious balance is possible if the modern bureaucratic state, upon securing a sufficient platform, openly celebrates its own inadequacies.

This means strong leadership, of course. A leader must consistently affirm that, at some point, the remaining gap must be closed by you and I, not the expansive, impersonal machines controlled from Canberra and Washington.

Trumpism reflects the fact America has seriously overshot the mark. Befuddled and unable to back-track, many citizens now feel it's preferable to risk complete political bedlam than allow continued government paternalism to completely stifle the nation's soul.

Tony Abbott made an attempt to turn back the tide. His (and Joe Hockey's) key mistake was to use the budget crisis as an excuse. Limited government is a moral issue, concerned with human freedom and dignity. And must be advocated for, accordingly.

Malcolm Turnbull certainly shows more heart. Alas, like president Obama, such empathy leaves him intellectually blind to the cultural dangers of militant progressivism.

By and large, mainstream Australia is appreciative of the difficulties faced by those on the margins. Yet for much of the political class, this will never do. For example, the highly emotive pleas for open-ended funding and greater awareness of the plight of young LGBTI is little more than dogma designed to shut down debate. Disagree, and behold as you are publicly shamed as an ignorant, uncaring bigot.

Appealing as they might first appear, same-sex marriage, constitutional rights for aborigines and programs like Safe Schools are nonetheless false promises, incapable of closing the gap, since genuine social justice always, in the end, involves more than legislation and the instruments of power. Like it or not, believe it or not, these initiatives will only feed the political disillusionment, resulting in additional interest group demands and deeper community conflict.

Australia is inviting the same violent and chaotic spectacle that is consuming America.

If Prime Minister Turnbull cannot present a vision that goes beyond the tribal ideologies that still drive our democracy and media, a destructive anti-establishment faction will splinter his own party.

It's time the Australian people had the long-overdue, adult conservation with about what it means to stand together in the centre, having faith in ourselves and each other, thankful of government without relying on it to accomplish our ideals.