It seems a no-brainer not to stand on the shoulders of giants, and in my humble opinion there is much we could still learn from indigenous cultures of the world.

In the mid 1970’s I heard a bureaucrat [Bob Lansdowne] argue that social change came from shifts in compassion or compulsion-he was discussing our relationship with Indonesia and argued that compassion was in short supply. He was suggesting that huge disparities in income and wealth in an increasingly open and global environment were a recipe for instability and conflict–and that we should be afraid of the consequences of failing to address it. His concern is even more relevant today.

Because I’ve never heard a satisfactory answer.

French? Garlic, butter, snails and frogs. Italian? Pasta, cured meats and tomatoes. American? Burgers, gumbo, lobster. Australian…?

How do we define what makes Australian food Australian? Our national dishes – meat pie, pavlova, lamington – are cobbled together from the cuisines of other countries. We’ve got a century or more of food culture under our belt now, but it’s still so hard to define what makes Australian food Australian.

Transplant technology has come so far so just extending the concept further to see what ethical and medical challenges might arise if it were to be possible

I was once asked and gave a quick and definite answer. I have, however, wondered about my answer ever since.

I asked this question because nothing seems to actually change or progress. For example, why are we asking how to legalise same-sex marriage? Shouldn’t we be asking how do we redefine marriage? Or how can a legal framework be less discriminatory? I am asking because I care, and you should too. We can make a difference, we just have to stop doing things in the way they have always been done!

This is a question that propels my research (at RMIT University), e.g. I co-edited Life Without Money: Building Fair and Sustainable Economies (2011, Pluto Press, London)

While both activities involves competition, the grace of movement and collaboration, they seem so far apart socially and culturally.

I am asking this question because the UN has identified a set of development goals such as equal access to education and eradication of poverty that it made me wonder if we as citizens of the world can truly achieve these goals.