Can a Free Society Survive Without Shared Values? | Rachael Kohn

CIS presents the 2026 Acton Lecture, delivered by Dr Rachael Kohn AO — broadcaster, religion scholar, and for 26 years a presenter on ABC Radio National. Marking the CIS 50th anniversary, alongside 250 years since the American Declaration of Independence and 125 years of Australian Federation, Dr Kohn asks what actually sustains a free society. Her answer: democracy is a covenant, not merely a contract — a relationship of liberty joined to responsibility, rights joined to obligation, and citizenship joined to a shared moral inheritance. She traces this idea through Alexis de Tocqueville, Lord Acton and Max Weber, and argues that the contemporary overvaluation of individual and group rights — detached from responsibility — is hollowing out the shared values on which liberal democracy depends. The lecture is followed by a discussion with CIS Research Program Director Peter Kurti, audience questions, and a vote of thanks from veteran broadcaster Andrew West. 📚 ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Dr Rachael Kohn AO is an award-winning broadcaster and scholar of religion. Over 26 years at ABC Radio National she created and presented programmes including The Religion Report, The Ark and The Spirit of Things, producing more than 1,700 programmes on religion and belief in public life.