Blazing the Economic Freedom Trail edited by Robert Carling

Blazing the Economic Freedom Trail
Edited by Robert Carling

ISBN: 9781923568266
Paperback, 200 pages, $29.95
March 2026 release

Published with the Centre for Independent Studies, Sydney.  

This anthology traces more than two decades of the Centre for Independent Studies’ work on economic policy, set against the shifting battle of ideas that has shaped Australia since the 1970s. Founded in 1976 during an era of stagflation and expanding government intervention, the CIS emerged as part of a classical liberal revival inspired by thinkers such as Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek. Its advocacy contributed to the reforming spirit that, from the mid-1980s, saw Australian governments of both political persuasions embrace markets, competition, free trade and fiscal discipline.

Yet the hard-won gains of this period have come under pressure in the years since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. Many reforms have stalled, retreated or been overturned, and debates once thought settled have returned with new force. This collection reflects that contemporary context, bringing together 50 contributions from more than 20 authors on the persistent challenges of economic freedom.

Covering the fundamentals of the market economy, the rise of regulation and red tape, the growth of government spending, the burdens of taxation, and enduring issues such as housing and superannuation, these pieces offer a clear defence of liberal economic principles. While the authors differ in emphasis, they share a commitment to open markets, limited government and the belief that economic progress depends on resisting unwarranted state intervention.
What goes around comes around; and as this book demonstrates, the contest of economic ideas remains as vital today as it was at the founding of the CIS.

Chapters Include:

Section 1: Foundations of Economic Freedom
Why we should defend capitalism
I, Mechanical Pencil: Why a socialist economy can never work
Debunking Degrowth
Degrowth proponents wrong to claim capitalism causes climate change
The MMT Hoax
UBI – Universal Basic Income is an Unbelievably Bad Idea
Voting for a Living: A Shift in Australian Politics from Selling Policies to Buying Votes
Fiscal Reform to Rescue our Future: The National Conversation on Budgets, Spending and Tax
Strengthening Australia’s Fiscal Institutions
‘Greedflation’ myth hides real causes of inflation

Section 2: Regulation and Productivity
Addressing Australia’s Productivity Problem. CORE Blueprint to Unshackle Productivity
Productivity Stakes Couldn’t be Higher at Roundtable
Productivity Commission piles in to Labor’s schizophrenic war on big business
Red tape and Australia’s economic malaise
Towards a red tape trading scheme
 Section 3: Government Spending
Why Does Government Grow?
 Australia’s Future Fiscal Shock
Government spending needs reform before taxes
Leviathan on the Rampage: Government spending growth a threat to Australia’s economic future
Government’s spending surge a threat to productivity
Blame bigger government for falling living standards
Gorillas In the Mist: How government obscures its spending

Section 4: Social Spending
Ending the Churn: A Tax/Welfare Swap
The Age-Old Problem of Old Age: Fixing the Pension
The New Leviathan: A National Disability Insurance Scheme
 Saving Medicare but NOT as we know it

Section 5: Tax Reform
The Case Against Tax Increases in Australia: The Growing Burden
Why it’s a Myth that Australia is a Low-taxing Country
How High Taxation Makes us Poorer
 Tax Reform to Make Work Pay
 Taming the Monster: Reforming Personal Income Tax
The Very Idea of a Flat Tax
Exposing the Stealth Tax: The Bracket Creep rip-off
Indexation would end the stealth tax of bracket creep
Fix it or Fail: Why We Must Cut Company Tax Now
Right or Rort? Dissecting Australia’s Tax Concessions
Myth vs Reality: The case against increasing Capital Gains Tax
State Taxation and Fiscal Federalism: A Blueprint for Further Reform
NSW needs to lead the charge on reforming GST share-out
Section 6: Housing Affordability
Eight Housing Affordability Myths
 Housing Affordability and Supply Restrictions
Super for Housing
Negative gearing barely affects the price of houses in the market
How heritage protection is cutting down housing development

Section 7: Superannuation
Compulsory Super at 20: Libertarian Paternalism Without the Libertarianism
Millennials and Super: the case for voluntary superannuation
How Should Super be Taxed?
Building a Better Super System
Implications of the Retirement Income Review: Public advocacy of private profligacy
Contributors