Melbourne Launch of “A Populism of the Spirit” by Shimon Cowen

The launch of “A Populism of the Spirit – Further Essays in Politics and Universal Ethics” by Rabbi Shimon Cowen follows earlier launches of the book in Sydney (at the Religious Liberty Conference held at the University of Notre Dame) and in Hobart where the book was launched by former federal Senator and minister, the Hon Eric Abetz. The Deputy Premier of Tasmania, the Hon Michael Ferguson also attended and spoke at the launch.

Text of the Hon Eric Abetz’s launch speech

Shimon Cowen’s latest contribution to the public discourse is another tour de force

Shimon Cowen’s latest contribution to the public discourse is another tour de force.
His recent ‘A Populism of the Spirit’ is a wonderful blend of deep thinking, scholarly excellence and real world relevance. The 375 pages are soaked in wisdom. The pages provide an insight into the malaise we are wallowing in as a society. They also tell us why. We are deserting fundamental virtues and values which have been and are common in the world’s major religions.

Described as hedonistic materialism Shimon exposes the bankrupt nature of this new approach to societal thinking. Its bankruptcy lies in the fact it fails to see humanity as a three dimensional being. Rather than recognising humans for what we are ….body, mind and spirit or conscience or soul, hedonistic materialism only sees us as body and mind. Limiting ourselves to only body and mind or a psychophysical organism denies us the reality of our soul which can transcend and indeed needs to transcend body and mind.
And just in case you think this is all too heavy our author has popularised hedonistic materialism into ‘hedonomat’. As yet, it hasn’t been recognised by my spell check and therefore leaves it underlined in red. Which may not be a bad thing as it emphasises the vital importance of the destructive concept which it describes.

The coherence of Rabbi Cowen’s book is truly something to behold and experience. Every page has a new gem stating the dilemma and providing the answers we need to rectify our societal malaise.

There is the saying that you shouldn’t discuss politics or religion at the dinner table. This book discusses both in substantial depth and needs to be discussed and considered at every dinner table in every house in Australia.

The reader is taken on a journey exposing the fatal flaws in the current populist views and pointing out why we are failing as a society despite having the necessary tools at hand in the universal ethics outlined in the Noahide Laws. The laws which have guided societies for Millenia and are common to the belief system of 70 percent of Australians.
The value we need to place on human life in all its forms and stages, the fact human life is precious and given from a higher Being, rather than a meaningless cosmic accident is well and truly canvassed. As is the parent/child relationship and its importance.
The book takes head on the frequency with which we are confronted with distorted emotions and the corrupted emotion of compassion. Using this distortion and corrupted thinking as a shield the pedlars of this ideology are stripping away our rights. The catch cry ideologies encourage us to ask , ‘what do I want?’ As opposed to asking , ‘what is wanted of me?’ A call to something higher and more noble.

As the Rabbi so succinctly expresses it on p39 ‘The struggle for our times is to restore the crucial dimension of the human spirit - the conscience or soul, with its eternal moral template - which has been largely eclipsed in contemporary society and culture.’

In discussing politics we have a few sage comments between pages 50 and 52.
Allow me to quote,

“The first quality for a politician for whom politics is a vocation is idealism, or a commitment to goals…We not only have to know what is right, but also do it. Not to be afraid of political correctness, disfavour and ridicule but to think, say and above all to do the right thing. It means saying and following (i.e. loving) truth…accept the truth from the person who says it , not because the person has a perfectly virtuous unchequered past, but because right now what he or she is saying is true. In other words have the humility to accept truth, and to be wary of one’s prejudices which might lead one to dismiss it or fears which keep one from affirming it. Humility or acknowledgement is also a hallmark of truth….politics is a sphere in which we engage to change our lives and the lives of others. This makes it the most responsible , the most earnest of all realms of human conduct. That is why we must recover the human spirit into politics.”

This truly amazing work deals with all the issues of the day from political correctness to matters economic and environmental, including providing us with an insight into the world’s most compassionate and pro - animal legislation. That’s right it was the same government ( if that is the term) which oversaw the murder of one-and-a-half million children in death camps. Interestingly the Green ideology of today promotes animal welfare and protection of nature as a virtue in itself while championing the destruction of unborn children. The suggested similarities are concerning both stemming from ideologies that dismiss the recognition of a Creator. 

If I go on any longer I may well obviate the need for you to buy the book. And if you haven’t got a Father’s Day present as yet you’ve got an opportunity right here to overcome the oversight. Your father will be most appreciative.

Australia is blessed to have a thinker and author of the calibre of Rabbi Dr Shimon Cowen who is willing to commit endless hours for our and our society’s education and benefit in producing a volume setting out the reasons for our society’s floundering and most importantly providing a road map out of the malaise.

We need a new populism - a resurgence and reassertion of the human spirit which recognises universal ethics. We’ve been given the blueprint in this book. The challenge is - do we have the courage conviction and character to make this acknowledgement of our common human make up as body mind and soul into a popular cause.