Leftists erode our social fabric, by Maurice Newman. The election of Labor in 2007 saw a big step-up in political correctness in Australia:

Meanwhile, the “Howard battlers” watched helplessly as their middle-class values and enjoyment of social harmony were jettisoned and replaced with the “progressive” policies of the pretentious, highly paid, tertiary educated, minority-driven establishment. A new code of politically correct behaviour, endorsed by authority and self-appointed thought police, now threatens them.

With the inevitable consequences.

Gradually, the social cost of these policies is being felt. Weak border protection and admission criteria have seen the over-representation of ethnic minorities in our jails. It isn’t a topic of polite conversation among the inner-city intelligentsia but in the ’burbs, where the crimes take place, free speech is still openly practised.

Leftist elites may sneer at suburban ordinariness, but out there, people see respect for the rule of law in ever diminishing supply.

PC indoctrination comes from big government in our brave new world:

Using our money, children are brainwashed from preschool. The “black armband” view of Australian history is shamelessly pushed. No counter view is taught. Students are informed that climate change is the result of greed and irresponsible human activity. The Malthusian view of sustainability is the first principle, regardless of contrary empirical evidence. Without parental consent, the Safe Schools program forces radical views of gender and sexuality on to innocent children.

Thus indoctrinated, young people go on to tertiary education, where this preconditioning is reinforced. At university, contrary views and debate are discouraged or shut down. If you want to graduate, toe the party line. And, by the way, you may no longer tell people what they don’t want to hear.

Which necessitates even bigger government:

Such sweeping cultural reforms are expensive but governments, state and federal, happily foot the bill.

Indeed, to pay for the growing army of government workers, academics, environmental extremists, the “forever needy” and other politically useful minorities, we have become increasingly dependent on government …

But it’s not sustainable — government and the welfare state only got this large on the back of the largest-ever financial bubble, from 1982, which is now threatening to bust.

According to Australian National University researcher Ben Phillips, only 43 per cent of the adult population excluding public sector workers are net taxpayers, meaning more than 50 per cent of voters rely fully on political patronage for their income. …

These consequences are conveniently ignored by political leaders. They pretend not to see the bubble-up poverty where, over time, ever more taxes are extracted from a diminishing number of taxpayers until none are left to tax.