Hugh Mackay is probably Australia’s best-known ‘social psychologist’. He’s written twenty-two books, including Advance Australia… where?, The Art of Belonging, and Beyond Belief. He appears regularly on television, radio and newspapers as a commentator. Being multi-talented he doesn’t stop there, he’s also published seven novels. His new book, however, is The Kindness Revolution, in which he examines the way our society is developing, asking if it might be possible that Australia be not simply the Lucky Country, if it might become the Loving Country, a place where compassion reigns.

2020 was a year ravaged by bushfires and a global pandemic, it took a toll not just on our economy, but on both our mental and emotional health. In his new book Mackay reflects on some of the questions we asked ourselves during this time: What really matters to me? Am I living the kind of life I want? What sort of society do we want to become?

Absorbing, wise and inspiring, The Kindness Revolution captures the essence of Mackay’s life’s work. He seeks to show how crises and catastrophes can often turn out to be the making of us, explaining why it is that radical kindness is the key to healing. ‘To be kind – always and to everyone – is to be fully, gloriously human, and every act of kindness is one more step towards a better society.’

‘ Revolutions,’ Mackay writes, ‘never start at the top. If we dare to dream of a more loving country – kinder, more compassionate, more cooperative, more respectful, more inclusive, more egalitarian, more harmonious, less cynical – there’s only one way to start turning that dream into a reality: each of us must live as if this is already that country.’

Hugh Mackay will be in conversation with Steven Lang.