conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
Australian literary, cultural, and political journal, which publishes both online and printed editions. , ''Quadrant'' mainly publishes commentary, essays and opinion pieces on
cultural
Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...
,
political
Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
, and historical issues, although it also reviews
literature
Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...
and publishes
poetry
Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
and
fiction
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...
in the print edition. Its editorial line is self-described "bias towards cultural freedom, anti-
totalitarianism
Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public s ...
and
classical liberalism
Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics and civil liberties under the rule of law, with special emphasis on individual autonomy, limited governmen ...
".
History
The magazine was founded in
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
modernist
Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
hoax. It was originally an initiative of the Australian Committee for Cultural Freedom, the Australian arm of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, an
anti-communist
Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...
advocacy group funded by the CIA. The name ''Quadrant'' was suggested by the publisher Alec Bolton, husband of the poet Rosemary Dobson; she had declined to join the editorial board of ''Quadrant'', not wanting to be seen as "part of the right".
''Quadrant'' has had many notable contributors, including Les Murray, who was its literary editor from 1990 to 2019, Peter Ryan, who wrote a column from 1994 to 2015, Heinz Arndt, Sir Garfield Barwick, Frank Brennan, Ian Callinan, Hal Colebatch,
Peter Coleman
William Peter Coleman (15 December 1928 – 31 March 2019) was an Australian writer and politician. A widely published journalist for over 60 years, he was editor of '' The Bulletin'' (1964–1967) and of '' Quadrant'' for 20 years, and publi ...
,
Sir Zelman Cowen
Sir Zelman Cowen, (7 October 1919 – 8 December 2011) was an Australian legal scholar and university administrator who served as the 19th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1977 to 1982.
Cowen was born in Melbourne, and attended ...
Roger Scruton
Sir Roger Vernon Scruton, (; 27 February 194412 January 2020) was an English philosopher, writer, and social critic who specialised in aesthetics and political philosophy, particularly in the furtherance of Conservatism in the United Kingdom, c ...
James Spigelman
James Jacob Spigelman (born 1 January 1946) is a former Australian judge who served as Chief Justice of New South Wales from 1998 to 2011, and also as Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales from 1998 to 2012. He served on the Court of Final ...
Tony Abbott
Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is an Australian former politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and was the member of parli ...
,
Mark Latham
Mark William Latham (; born 28 February 1961) is an Australian politician and media commentator who is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. He previously served as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Leader of the ...
, and John Wheeldon. After the publication of the 1997 '' Bringing Them Home'' report about the Stolen Generations, ''Quadrant'' published a number of articles critical of the report's methodology and conclusions. Professor Robert Manne, who edited the magazine from 1990 to 1997, claimed that the
Howard government
The Howard government refers to the Government of Australia, federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard between 11 March 1996 and 3 December 2007. It was made up of members of the Liberal Party of Australia, Li ...
's response to ''Bringing Them Home'' was influenced by and "collusive with" ''Quadrant''s position.
, commentators describe the magazine as having a strong
right-wing
Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...
bias and even engaging in
extremism
Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied sha ...
. In the week following the
Manchester Arena bombing
The Manchester Arena bombing, or Manchester Arena attack, was an Islamic terrorism in Europe, Islamic terrorist suicide bombing of Manchester Arena in Manchester, England, on 22 May 2017, following Dangerous Woman Tour, a concert by the Americ ...
, ''Quadrant''s online editor Roger Franklin wrote an article titled "The Manchester Bomber's ABC Pals", referring to the ''Q&A'' TV program. In it he wrote: "Had there been a shred of justice, that blast would have detonated in an Ultimo TV studio ater amended to, 'What if that blast had detonated in an Ultimo TV studio?'... none of the panel’s likely casualties would have represented the slightest reduction in humanity’s intelligence, decency, empathy or honesty." ABC Managing director Michelle Guthrie called for the article to "be removed and apologised for". ''Quadrant'' editor-in-chief Keith Windschuttle acknowledged that the article was "intemperate" and "a serious error of judgment" and apologised for the offence it had caused. The article was removed from the website.
Stance and values
In October 1992, Dame Leonie Kramer, then the chairman of the magazine's board of directors, discussed the "deep values" of ''Quadrant'':
# "the intrinsic value of cultural and intellectual freedom and of inquiry ..."
# "cultural and intellectual freedoms, indeed negative liberties generally, depend upon an abundance of autonomous institutions and an open society ..."
# "political democracy ... support of particular democratic institutions, and a culture that accepts peaceful and democratic modes of government and change of government ..."
# "liberal democracy, that is democracy that respects individual liberty ... insists that government be limited: by other holders of political and economic resources, by legally protected private property, by free media, and most of all by the rule of law, that is the restraint and channelling of power by law ..."
# "the virtues, and commonly the wisdom, borne by traditions in social and moral life ... It has not pretended that traditions have all the answers or should be treated with uncritical reverence ... It has, however, recommended that ... long established moral and social practices be treated with respect and caution."
# "an economic order in which markets are allowed to work - within the rule of law (and the framework of property rights) - as sources of information, as ingredients and supporters of liberty and as facilitators of competitive private enterprise and individual choice ..."
In 2007, ''Quadrant''s mission was described by its editor as:
In March 2008, the magazine was describing itself as sceptical of "unthinking leftism, or political correctness, and its 'smelly little orthodoxies. Regular contributors often support
conspiracy theories
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources:
*
...
such as that
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
has a mild impact and that
global warming
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...
is a hoax, and the 2020 US election was fraudulent. , the magazine describes itself as "Australia's most open minded publication", while its home page includes articles critical of climate scientists, the ABC, and "the Left's triumphal anti-clericalism".
Hoax
In January 2009, ''Quadrant'' unknowingly published a hoax article. Its author, writer, editor and activist Katherine Wilson, stated that she aimed to show that the magazine and editor Keith Windschuttle had
right-wing politics
Right-wing politics is the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position b ...
bias. Wilson claimed Windschuttle and ''Quadrant'' would publish an inaccurate article and not check its footnotes or authenticity if it met his preconceptions. Using the pseudonym "biotechnologist Dr Sharon Gould", Wilson submitted an article claiming that
CSIRO
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency that is responsible for scientific research and its commercial and industrial applications.
CSIRO works with leading organisations arou ...
had planned to produce food crops engineered with human genes.
Editors
Management structure
Editorial staff
* Editor, ''Quadrant'' magazine: Rebecca Weisser
* Editor, International, ''Quadrant'' magazine: John O'Sullivan
* Editor, ''Quadrant'' Online: Roger Franklin
* Literary Editor: Barry Spurr"Barry Spurr appointed Quadrant's new Literary Editor", ''Quadrant'', March 2019, p. 3.
* Music Editor: Alexander Voltz
* Deputy Editor: George Thomas
See also
*
List of literary magazines
Below is a list of literary magazines and journals: periodicals devoted to book reviews, creative nonfiction, essays, poems, short fiction, and similar literary endeavors.
*Because the majority are from the United States, the country of origin ...