Monthly Archives: July 2012

Underneath the ‘underclass’

Posted on 29th Jul, 2012 by Puddleglum

Joe Bageant died on the 26th of March last year. Apparently, he was sometimes referred to as an American ‘leftneck’ – which is not a bad label for him. Bageant’s book (and, more generally, his literary life) has been devoted to laying … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Economics, Education, Free Market, Human Wellbeing, New Zealand Politics, Welfare | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

A bit rich

Posted on 27th Jul, 2012 by Puddleglum

The National Business Review has released its 2012 ‘Rich List’ of the wealthiest New Zealanders. Well, the wealthiest people who occasionally drop in to New Zealand … or, maybe, own some land in New Zealand … or, maybe, have an … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Human Nature, New Zealand Politics, Philosophy, Political Psychology, politics of envy | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Water, Waitangi, ownership and power

Posted on 17th Jul, 2012 by Puddleglum

There’s a reason why we talk about property rights. Owning property without having any rights to it makes as much sense as having rights to something without owning it in some way. ‘Water rights’ and ‘water ownership’ are, in all … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Economics, Free Market, Freedom, Maori, National Identity, New Zealand Politics | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Water, Waitangi, ownership and power

Getting ‘stuck in’ to employment

Posted on 11th Jul, 2012 by Puddleglum

Recently, Rodney Hide related his experiences as a manual labourer, doing casual jobs for a builder, digger driver and retaining wall builder. Hide drew a lesson from his experience about the motivation of the unemployed. Basically, it amounted to the conclusion … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Freedom, Human Nature, Human Wellbeing, Labour, New Zealand Politics | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments