Clive Charles Hamilton AM

FRSA The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

(born 12 March 1953) is an Australian

public intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or ...

and Professor of Public Ethics at the

Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics The Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE) was a research center at Charles Sturt University and the University of Melbourne. CAPPE ceased operation on 31 December 2016. Its website has been archived and the academic staff and re ...

(CAPPE) and the Vice-Chancellor's Chair in Public Ethics at

Charles Sturt University Charles Sturt University is an Australian multi-campus public university located in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Victoria. Established in 1989, it was named in honour of Captain Charles Napier Sturt, a British explore ...

. He is a member of the Board of the

Climate Change Authority The Climate Change Authority (CCA) is an Australian Government statutory agency responsible for providing independent advice to government on climate change policy. It was established by and operates under the ''Climate Change Authority Act 201 ...

of the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Governmen ...

, and is the Founder and former Executive Director of

The Australia Institute The Australia Institute is a left-wing public policy think tank based in Canberra, Australia. Since its launch in 1994, it has carried out research on a broad range of economic, social, and environmental issues. The institute has offices in Ca ...

. He regularly appears in the

Australian media Mass media in Australia spans traditional and digital formats, and caters mostly to its predominantly English-speaking population. It is delivered in a variety of formats including radio, television, paper, internet and IPTV. Varieties include ...

and contributes to

public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public ...

debates. Hamilton was granted the award of

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

on 8 June 2009 for "service to public debate and policy development, particularly in the fields of climate change,

sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...

and societal trends".

Education and academic career

Hamilton graduated from the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

psychology Psychology is the science, scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immens ...

and

pure mathematics Pure mathematics is the study of mathematical concepts independently of any application outside mathematics. These concepts may originate in real-world concerns, and the results obtained may later turn out to be useful for practical applications, ...

in 1975 and completed a

Bachelor of Economics The Bachelor of Economics (BEc or BEcon), or the "Bachelor of Applied Economics", is a bachelor's degree awarded by many universities and colleges for completion of an undergraduate program in economics, econometrics, or applied economics; th ...

with First Class Honours from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

in 1979. He was an Overseas Commonwealth Postgraduate Scholar and completed his

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

at the

Institute of Development Studies The Institute of Development Studies (IDS) is a think tank affiliated with the University of Sussex in Brighton, England, and based on its campus in Falmer, East Sussex. It delivers research and teaching in the area of development studies, ...

at the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

in 1984. His thesis was titled "A general equilibrium model of South Korean development". He was a

Postdoctoral Fellow A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to p ...

and Research Fellow at the Research School of Pacific Studies of the Australian National University from 1984 to 1988 and the Director of the Graduate Program in the Economics of the Development at the National Centre for Development Studies of the Australian National University from 1986 to 1988. From 1994 to 1997 he was a Senior Lecturer in Public Policy and from 1997 to 2002 he was a Fellow in Public Policy at the Australian National University and he was a Visiting Fellow of the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health in 2004. From 1988 to 1990 he was a Senior Research Economist at the Bureau of Industry Economics of the Federal Department of Industry, Science and Resources (now the

Productivity Commission The Productivity Commission is the Australian Government's principal review and advisory body on microeconomic policy, regulation and a range of other social and environmental issues. The Productivity Commission was created as an independent a ...

). Hamilton founded the Australia Institute in 1993 and was Executive Director until 2008. He has been an academic visitor at the

Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics The Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford was founded in 2001. It is part of Oxford's Humanities Division. The faculty is located next to Somerville College on Woodstock Road. As of 2020, it is ranked 1st in the UK and 2nd in the English- ...

, a visiting lecturer at the

Oxford Martin School The Oxford Martin School is a research and policy unit based in the Social Sciences Division of the University of Oxford. It was founded in June 2005 as the James Martin 21st Century School and is located in the original building of the Indian ...

and a visiting professor at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Oxford. He is a Life Member of Clare Hall, University of Cambridge and was a visiting scholar of the Department of Land Economy of the University of Cambridge. He was a senior visiting fellow of the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies of

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

Works

Hamilton has written about the issue of climate change politics over a period of some 15 years. His book ''

Requiem for a Species ''Requiem for a Species: Why We Resist the Truth about Climate Change'' is a 2010 non-fiction book by Australian academic Clive Hamilton which explores climate change denial and its implications. It argues that climate change will bring about ...

'' (

Earthscan Earthscan is an English-language publisher of books and journals on climate change, sustainable development and environmental technology for academic, professional and general readers. History The Earthscan Publications imprint was founded by th ...

2010) explores

climate change denial Climate change denial, or global warming denial, is denial, dismissal, or doubt that contradicts the scientific consensus on climate change, including the extent to which it is caused by humans, its effects on nature and human society, or t ...

and its implications. His earlier books, '' Scorcher'' (2007) and ''Running from the Storm'' (2001), were critical of the Australian Government's efforts, especially in relation to the

Kyoto Protocol The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that (part ...

. Hamilton's general view about climate change is that the "world is on a path to a very unpleasant future and it is too late to stop it".Kelsey Munro
Too late for all but prayers
''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 27 February 2010. Hamilton argues that to believe anything else is to deny the climate change truth and engage in wishful thinking.Steven Yearley
Book of the week: Requiem for a Species
''Times Higher Education'', 3 June 2010. Hamilton has written several books relating to

consumerism Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the su ...

and

overconsumption Overconsumption describes a situation where a consumer overuses their available goods and services to where they can't, or don't want to, replenish or reuse them. In microeconomics, this may be described as the point where the marginal cost of ...

. '' Growth Fetish'' (2003) became an Australian best-seller and suggests that the unthinking pursuit of

economic growth Economic growth can be defined as the increase or improvement in the inflation-adjusted market value of the goods and services produced by an economy in a financial year. Statisticians conventionally measure such growth as the percent rate o ...

has become a fetish, which has not led to any real improvements in levels of happiness. In ''Growth Fetish'', Hamilton advocates the politics of wellbeing over economic growth. In ''

Affluenza Affluenza is a pseudoscientific psychological malaise supposedly affecting wealthy people. It is a portmanteau of '' affluence'' and ''influenza'', and is used most commonly by critics of consumerism. It is not a medically recognized disease. ...

'' (2005), Hamilton describes how these themes play out at a personal level, as he explores the shallowness of modern consumer life.Kirsty Needham
A serious bout of affluenza
''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 28 May 2005. In '' What's Left?'' (2006) Hamilton comments on topics written about in ''Growth Fetish'' and ''Affluenza''. He argues that there is an emergence of new types of "alienation and exploitation", in the form of ravages of the

free market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...

, which have "robbed life of its meaning". '' The Freedom Paradox'' (2008) relates to the nature and consequences of advanced

consumer capitalism A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. T ...

. In the book Hamilton proposes a system of "post-secular ethics" that will serve as a challenge to the "moral malaise" occasioned by the "freedom of the marketplace". '' Silencing Dissent: How the Australian Government Is Controlling Public Opinion and Stifling Debate'', edited with

Sarah Maddison Sarah Maddison CF is an Australian author and political scientist. Education Maddison has a PhD in the Discipline of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney. Career She is a former Director of GetUp! and the 2018� ...

was published in 2007. In February 2018 Hamilton published the book '' Silent Invasion: China's influence in Australia'' on the increasing involvement of the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...

in Australian civil society and politics. In June 2020, British businessman and advocate of tighter China-UK economic relations Stephen Perry and the

48 Group Club The 48 Group Club (originally, the 48 Group of British Traders with China) is a London-based nonprofit organisation dedicated to promoting trade between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the United Kingdom. The group is named after a Britis ...

launched a defamation lawsuit in an attempt to block the release of Hamilton's '' Hidden Hand: Exposing How The Chinese Communist Party Is Reshaping The World''.

Political candidate

On 23 October 2009, Hamilton was announced as the

Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, are a confederation of Green state and territory political parties in Australia. As of the 2022 federal election, the Greens are the third largest political party in Australia by vote and t ...

candidate for the

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election ( Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to ...

in the federal seat of Higgins. He ran against nine others for the seat, and came second, receiving 32.40 percent of primary votes and 39.77 percent of preferred votes. The Australian Labor Party did not run a candidate in the election.

Bibliography

Books by Clive Hamilton include: *Hamilton, Clive (1986). ''Capitalist Industrialization in Korea'', Westview Press. *Hamilton, Clive (ed) (1991). ''The Economic Dynamics of Australian Industry'', North Sydney: Allen & Unwin. *Hamilton, Clive (1994). ''The Mystic Economist'', Sydney: Willow Park Press. *Hamilton, Clive & Diesendorf, Mark (eds) (1997). '' Human Ecology, Human Economy: Ideas for an Ecologically Sustainable Future'', Sydney: Allen & Unwin. *Hamilton, Clive & Throsby, David (eds) (1998). ''The ESD Process: Evaluating a Policy Experiment'', Canberra: Academy of Social Sciences in Australia. *Hamilton, Clive (2001). ''Running from the Storm: The Development of Climate Change Policy in Australia'', Sydney: University of New South Wales Press. *Hamilton, Clive (2003). '' Growth Fetish'', Sydney: Allen & Unwin. *Hamilton, Clive & Denniss, Richard (2005). '' Affluenza: When Too Much is Never Enough'', Sydney: Allen & Unwin. *Hamilton, Clive (2006). '' What's Left? The Death of Social Democracy'', Sydney: Quarterly Essay. *Hamilton, Clive (2007). '' Scorcher: The Dirty Politics of Climate Change'', Melbourne: Black Inc. *Hamilton, Clive & Maddison, Sarah (eds) (2007). '' Silencing Dissent: How the Australian Government Is Controlling Public Opinion and Stifling Debate'', Sydney: Allen & Unwin. *Hamilton, Clive (2008). '' The Freedom Paradox: Towards a Post-Secular Ethics'', Sydney: Allen & Unwin. *Hamilton, Clive (2010). '' Requiem for a Species: Why We Resist The Truth About Climate Change'', Sydney: Allen & Unwin. *Hamilton, Clive (2013). ''Earthmasters: Playing God with the climate'', Sydney: Allen & Unwin. *Hamilton, Clive (2016). ''What Do We Want?: The Story of Protest in Australia'', Canberra: National Library of AustraliaReadings
, retrieved 4 December 2016 *Hamilton, Clive (2017). ''Defiant Earth: The Fate of Humans in the Anthropocene'', Sydney: Allen & Unwin. *Hamilton, Clive (2018). '' Silent Invasion: China's influence in Australia'' , Sydney: Hardie Grant Books. . *Hamilton, Clive & Ohlberg, Mareike (2020). ''Hidden Hand: Exposing How The Chinese Communist Party Is Reshaping The World'', Sydney: Hardie Grant Books. .

References

External links