Tag Archives: Voting

The morality of poverty and the poverty of morality

Posted on 6th Aug, 2017 by Puddleglum

We are moral animals. But, so far as I can judge, in politics today our moral instincts are operating in a way that generates the worst moral outcomes. Metiria Turei’s recent confession (a moral notion) at the launch of the Green … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Economics, New Zealand Politics, Political Psychology, Poverty | Tagged , , , , | 14 Comments

Who’s afraid of ‘radical’ politics?

Posted on 31st Jul, 2017 by Puddleglum

As the 2017 election approaches the question has been asked of ‘the left’ in New Zealand – Is it time to ‘go radical‘? It’s a question especially relevant to the Labour Party given recent polling. But it’s almost exactly the … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Free Market, Human Wellbeing, Labour, New Zealand Politics, Political Psychology | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Pointless referenda I would like

Posted on 1st Sep, 2015 by Puddleglum

Well, the flag’s well and truly come down for the start of the silly season so let’s get into the spirit of it all. Yes, time to put aside all that serious politico stuff that ‘lefties’ get so uptight about. As … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, National Identity, New Zealand Politics, Political Psychology | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Pointless referenda I would like

‘Everybody knows …’ the politics of dissimulation

Posted on 3rd Dec, 2014 by Puddleglum

“Everybody knows that the dice are loaded Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed Everybody knows that the war is over Everybody knows the good guys lost Everybody knows the fight was fixed The poor stay poor, the rich get rich … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, New Zealand Politics, Political Polls, Political Psychology | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

Drawing the poison

Posted on 26th Sep, 2014 by Puddleglum

It’s – more or less – thirty years since Roger Douglas’ faction gained control of the Treasury benches. It’s even longer since it latched its fangs onto the Labour Party jugular. The bloody leadership struggle within the Labour Party since the election … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Labour, New Zealand Politics | Tagged , , , | 39 Comments

We no longer have a Prime Minister

Posted on 1st Sep, 2014 by Puddleglum

Having just listened to an item featuring John Key on Checkpoint (National Radio) I now have to announce that New Zealand has no-one at present performing the proper role of Prime Minister. John Key could not have acted less Prime Ministerial if he had … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging, Democracy, Media, New Zealand Politics, Political Polls, Political Psychology | Tagged , , , , , | 31 Comments

A Tale of Two Tracks. Part II – Something new under the sun.

Posted on 30th Aug, 2014 by Puddleglum

[This is the second part of a two-part post. In the first post I argued that our modern world is susceptible to ‘two tracks’ arising in all areas. In this post I argue that it is wrong to claim that … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging, Democracy, Freedom, New Zealand Politics, Political Psychology | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on A Tale of Two Tracks. Part II – Something new under the sun.

The real story in the Fairfax polls

Posted on 22nd Jun, 2014 by Puddleglum

There’s an aspect of the political polls that I suspect many people are unaware of. As percentage support for each party is reported, most people probably assume that more people are supporting the parties that show an increase in percent … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Labour, New Zealand Politics, Political Polls | Tagged , , , | 24 Comments

Christchurch and the election

Posted on 18th Jun, 2014 by Puddleglum

[As an experiment, I’m testing the use of an ‘abstract’ for my posts. Those who don’t want to grind through the long version but would like to know if it might be worth the grind can have an overview of what … Continue reading →

Posted in Earthquakes, Education, Labour, New Zealand Politics, Political Polls, Political Psychology | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Selling rope

Posted on 29th May, 2014 by Puddleglum

There’s an anecdote, probably apocryphal, that in the early 1920s Lenin claimed that capitalism would provide the rope to hang itself. When some wag (reputedly Grigori Zinoviev, a close associate) responded by asking ‘Where will we get the rope?’ – at … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Labour, Maori, Media, New Zealand Politics, Political Psychology, Poverty | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment