The Lucky Culture

A bold and provocative book about Australia's national identity and how it is threatened by the rise of a ruling class. Nick Cater, senior editor at The Australian, tracks the seismic changes in Australian culture and outlook since Donald Horne wrote The Lucky Country in 1964.

His belief is that countries don't get lucky; people do. The secret of Australia's good fortune is not found in its geography or history. The key to its success is the Australian character, the nation's greatest renewable resource. Liberated from the constraints of the old world, Australia's pioneers mined their reserves of enterprise, energy and ingenuity to build the great civilization of the south. Their over-riding principle was fairness: everybody had a right to a fair go and was obliged to do the right thing by others.

Today that spirit of egalitarianism is threatened by the rise of a new breed of sophisticated Australians who claim to better understand the demands of the age. Their presumption of superior virtue tempts them to look down on others and assert the right to rule.

Half a century after Donald Horne named Australia 'The Lucky Country', Nick Cater takes stock of the new battle to define Australia and the rift that divides a presumptive ruling class from a people who refuse to be ruled.

The Lucky Culture is a lively and original take on 21st century Australia and its people. Sometimes rousing, often provocative and always good-humoured, its unexpectedly moving message cannot be ignored.

About the Author

Nick Cater is a senior editor at THE AUSTRALIAN. Born in Britain, he fell in love with the idea of Australia at an early age. He made the decision to migrate while on assignment for the BBC to covering the Australian bicentenary in 1988. Finding a job as a reporter at The Advertiser, he has been a journalist at News Limited ever since. He was appointed to senior editorial positions at The Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Telegraph before joining The Australian in 2004.