I know it’s unfashionable to say anything positive about Scott Morrison but I fear he may be under-appreciated. But where can you find such sentiments expressed anywhere any more by someone who leads a government: Don’t give in to identity politics, Scott Morrison urges.

Scott Morrison has urged Australians not to surrender to “identity politics” and the forces that undermine the community, declaring freedom rests on “taking personal responsibility”.

In a speech outlining his values and beliefs, the Prime Minister on Thursday night launched an impassioned critique of the “growing tendency to commodify human beings through identity politics” and elevated the necessity of viewing “people as individuals — with agency and responsibility”.

Speaking at a United Israel Appeal NSW donor dinner in Sydney, Mr Morrison set out his vision of morality, community and personal responsibility in the modern world while warning that reducing individuals to their attributes would end in division and a broken society.

“We must never surrender the truth that the experience and value of every human being is unique and personal,” he said.

“You are more than your gender, your sexuality, your race, your ethnicity, your religion, your language group, your age.“

All of these contribute to who we are and the incredible diversity of our society, and our place in the world, but of themselves they are not the essence of our humanity.

“When we reduce ourselves to a collection of attributes, or divide ourselves on this basis, we can lose sight of who we are as individuals — in all our complexity and wholeness. We then define each other by the boxes we tick or don’t tick rather than our qualities, skills and character.

These were once merely boilerplate commonplace statements. Now they are radical arguments that we seldom any longer hear. Very happy to hear the PM say what really needs saying in these dark times.