Category Archives: Political Psychology

The banality of corruption

At the heart of the exotic and exciting spectacle of National Party luminaries engaging in their own version of the shootout at the OK Corral – and, in so doing, managing to take out one of their own – is … Continue reading

Posted in Freedom, Human Nature, New Zealand Politics, Political Psychology | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

‘Not Electioneering’, Key-style

‘Nothing to do with me‘, says Key (and Joyce). After all, John Key explicitly announced in the first minute of the one hour Radio Live ‘PM’s Hour’ that it was an “election free zone”. But that raises the question of … Continue reading

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Boil; Pour; Stew – Drink?

The way to get tea so strong you could stand the teaspoon up in it and produce that almost unbearably metallic, bitter tannin taste in your mouth is to follow the age old recipe: Boil; Pour; Stew. Well, they call … Continue reading

Posted in New Zealand Politics, Political Polls, Political Psychology | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Shearer on ‘How big is my politics?’

Q. What’s the difference between Donald O’Connor, Jimmy Durante and David Shearer? A. All three of them express the naive belief that “It’s bigger than both of us!” but only two of them have the excuse that they were singing … Continue reading

Posted in Earthquakes, Labour, New Zealand Politics, Political Psychology | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Election Prediction No. 1 – Fewer than 30,000 people will vote for John Key

It’s clear that fewer than 30,000 New Zealanders will end up voting for Prime Minister John Key in the upcoming elections. It’s also clear that somewhere north of 1,000,000 New Zealanders will, after voting day, think that they have voted … Continue reading

Posted in New Zealand Politics, Political Polls, Political Psychology | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Believing what you need to believe

It’s a common belief that politics and policy-making would be better if it availed itself of the fruits of scientific endeavour. Some call it ‘evidence-based policy‘ and it is often those on the left who call for much more of … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Human Wellbeing, New Zealand Politics, Political Psychology | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments