Niall McLaren

Niall McLaren is an Australian psychiatrist, author and critic, although not necessarily in that order.

Latest from Niall McLaren

Op-Ed

Australia’s Tea Party Crashes and Burns

Angry voters have hit back at the Australian Liberal Party’s doctrinaire adoption of brutal right-wing policies.

by: Niall McLaren,; Truthout

March 15, 2015

Op-Ed

Charlie Hebdo: When Freedom of Speech Isn’t Paramount

The concept of a civil society depends on far more than simply unrestrained freedom of speech.

by: Niall McLaren,; Truthout

February 17, 2015

Review

“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”: A Modern, Militarist Parable

Peter Jackson’s series “The Hobbit” closed with a festschrift of gore but its sheer silliness conceals a much more serious message.

by: Niall McLaren,; Truthout

January 17, 2015

Op-Ed

G20 and Beyond: The Future Is Watching You

The G20 summit meeting has two levels: the overt grandstanding that politicians love, and a far more sinister agenda.

by: Niall McLaren,; Truthout

November 20, 2014

Op-Ed

I Love a Paranoid Country

Australia appears determined to repeat the post-September 11 errors of the US.

by: Niall McLaren,; Truthout

November 17, 2014

News Analysis

Sinister Franchise: Exporting the Tea Party to Australia

The new Liberal government in Australia seems determined to turn the country in directions no voters were warned about – those directions coming straight from the Tea Party…

by: Niall McLaren,; Truthout

May 22, 2014

News Analysis

Politics & Elections

Thank You, NSA.

Political corruption will destroy the world. We have the means to eradicate it using today’s technology. All that is lacking is the political will, as the people who…

by: Niall McLaren,; SpeakOut

April 19, 2014

Op-Ed

How to Mess Up a Perfectly Good Democracy, as Seen From Down Under

Unlike the US, Australia’s system prevents the “buying” of elections and citizens are required to vote rather than being prevented from voting.

by: Niall McLaren,; Truthout

December 21, 2013

Op-Ed

Labor As Seen from Down Under: Fair Wages and Decent Benefits Profit Everyone

The idea that workers have to be beaten down at every turn just doesn’t add up, as industrial experience Down Under shows every day of the year.

by: Niall McLaren,; Truthout

November 29, 2013

Op-Ed

Dumbing Down America: The Decline of Education in the US as Seen From Down Under

The American electorate fails to realize it must unite to solve a skyrocketing educational cost and student debt problem that other nations solved a hundred or more years…

by: Niall McLaren,; Truthout

November 22, 2013