In the end, politics is not a public relations contest, it is a contest of ideas. And in the realm of ideas there has been no better publication in Australia over the last fifty years than Quadrant magazine. — Hon John Howard AC, October 2013

John Howard is right. No matter which political party might be in power, politics is driven by ideas. And it is clear to anyone with eyes to see that the conservative side is today engaged in the fight of its life. The ideas and values of both Western civilisation and Australian traditions are today faced with disturbing challenges to their survival from hordes of intellectuals, commentators and bureaucrats who would like to snuff them out.

Quadrant is at the core of the intellectual debate in defence of Australian liberalism and conservatism. We do this every month in Quadrant magazine and every day in Quadrant Online. We support the liberal democratic Anglosphere, our Judeo-Christian religious inheritance, the intellectual and artistic high culture of Western civilisation, traditional family life, and the great Australian values of patriotism, straight talk and a fair go.

All these traditions are today threatened by the disquieting rise of identity politics. Public debate is suppressed by political correctness and any dissenters in our educational institutions face dismissal. Character assassination of eminent public figures is rife. We are witnessing both a revival of Marxist theory and the emergence of a new militant generation within the Australian trade union movement. Around the world, many youth now see diehard socialists like Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders as gurus.

In foreign policy, developments in China and Iran have produced the most strategically precarious time since the end of the Cold War. Yet we have prominent Labor and Green identities urging us to forsake our traditional Western allies and cast our fate to the winds of Asia. Islamic terrorists still have the desire and ability to cause murder and mayhem on our streets, yet their apologists emerge on cue from our public media and educational institutions. In economic policy, politicians on the Left favour a radical redistribution of wealth such as we have not seen since the 1940s. Labor, the Greens and sexual radicals are all convinced their time has come.

If you are concerned about these issues, you can help us combat their ideological supporters. We need donations badly. Quadrant’s financial situation remains precarious and our website is long overdue for an expensive repair. We have no consistent corporate sponsors or government patrons. We survive almost entirely on the purchases and donations of our readers, especially our core of loyal subscribers. Please donate to the Quadrant Foundation* by clicking in the box below.

* The Quadrant Foundation is a tax-deductible fund listed on the Australian Government’s Register of Cultural Organisations maintained under Subdivision 30-B of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997. Donations of $2 or more are tax deductible.