To look at things from a charitable perspective, that generation experienced the most stable economic period in history, in terms of social mobility. I think a lot of them assumed that we had reached a stable normal (as in the fukuyama end of history idea). What they didn't realise was that the period they experienced coming of age was a historical anomaly, and now we are reverting to the normal (unequal wealth). They had a misplaced trust in authority. I can accept that things have changed, but I can't accept millenials being told it's their fault they didn't work hard enough. On the one hand I hear about about 17 percent interest rates, and then they go on about buying a house in Melbourne on a single income public service wage and leaving work for the pub at lunch time. The cognitive dissonance is rattling.

You're one of the smart ones with a social conscience.

As a side note, there are some things you absolutely need money for. Like dental care. I wiped my arse with tobacco plant leaves instead of buying toilet paper. But you always end up needing to go to the supermarket for something. Even dumpster diving relies on the existence of supermarkets.

I mean that's interesting, but my thoughts on it weren't that sophisticated. Narcissistic people just don't like having their behaviour questioned. Think of it like the oppositional defiance of a frustrated child. They will say no when questioned by default. He probably does have some of that class anxiety, being around people from elite backgrounds. I'm not a psychologist, I've just grown up around narcissistic people from troubled backgrounds, so I see patterns in body language and speech. What you've mentioned is food for thought though.

A big ego is OK sometimes. The problem is when it's coupled with narcissism. A truly confident person won't become overly defensive when criticised. They can recognise their faults and work around them. Albo doesn't have that quality. Which is partly why he is fixated on his class background. He never grew out of it mentally. So when his policies are scrutinised, it makes him feel insecure.

Nah it was in 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Marriage_Law_Postal_Survey Turnbull was PM. Abbott was against it, despite his sister being gay. Absolute toe rag of a human being.

There's a type of American who deserve the term, but like all generalisations, it's mostly unfair. It's a big country with a lot of different people and subcultures. If everyone judged us by the prime ministers we've elected, I'd be very upset.

Yeah I hear ya. It's insulting. There are a lot of people that don't understand that upwards social mobility is gone now. It's all about family wealth and support now. More people will understand this as time goes on.

Very good points. I withdraw my comment as it was definitely an overreach.

Because wages are inadequate and passive wealth or capital inheritance are the new pathway to upward social mobility. It's not that I think most people think like this (yet), but news articles are mostly written by people from wealth now, because who can live on a journalist wage these days.

That's what I thought Albo's strategy was. Make the opposition irrelevent and snatch their voters. He doesn't seem to make any decisions based on principles. He was campaigning on raising centrelink payments to a dignified level prior to his first term. That never happened.