Once, Australia was a world leader, resilient, bold, socially progressive. We set about giving everyone a fair go - the vote for women, a living wage, support for battlers. Governments worked for us, built things and made our lives better. Then we dropped the ball. We thought like colonials. We cringed. Lately we have descended to farce. Our politics is corrupt and broken. We are divided and fearful. Our economy stumbles along, hollowed out and enriching the rich. Governments abdicate their job and attack the battlers. None of this has to be. We know how to live well without squabbling and without ruining the land and the planet. But don't ask the political mainstream for the answers.