On Wednesday, 24 September, Hon Andrew Leigh, Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities & Treasury, delivered a special lecture at the Australian National University: The Politics of Abundance and the Perils of Zero-Sum Thinking. It was the first time this material was presented publicly. 

In his speech, Andrew presented a new analysis on how zero-sum thinking (the belief that one person’s gain must mean another’s loss) surfaces in parts of our politics and public debate. Crunching data from the Australian Election Study, he explored who is most prone to this mindset, and how it shapes arguments about housing, clean energy, trade and inclusive growth. This highlights a simple fact: when issues are cast in zero-sum terms, ambition shrinks. Whilst if we see the possibility of positive-sum outcomes, we open the way for abundance.

Find the full speech in the PDF below.