POLS102, short answer question

There are two clear turning points in New Zealand's political history with respect to the Keynesian and Neoliberal policy regimes. What two elections make these turning points? Which party won these elections?

• 1935

• 1984

• Both won by Labour

Briefly list four key features of the Keynesian policy regime.

• Progressive taxation in which high income earners pay a higher rater of tax than those on middle and low incomes, most taxes were directed towards income rather than consumption

• Full employment being the number one priority for economic management

• A strong welfare state, comparatively generous welfare state

• High union membership, with a legislative framework for employment relations which prohibited free-riding on the benefits of union membership if you weren't a union member

What was the central idea underpinning the Keynesian policy regime?

Market economies are not self-regulating, if left to their own devices it will create high levels of inequality, low levels of economic growth, high levels of unemployment and social and political instability.

How many people were unemployed in 1950

12

What is the key idea underpinning the neoliberal policy regime?

If the government maintains low inflation the economy will spontaneously generate economic growth, higher employment and balance of payment equilibrium. In sum the economy is self regulating.

Briefly list four key features of the neoliberal policy regime implemented from 1984 to 1999

• Monetarist management of the economy where there's an aim to maintain low inflation (Reserve Bank Act 1989) and keep government spending down.

• Market Liberalization - Removing the restriction and __ imposed by the government, liberalization of foreign trade and removal of direct assistance to industry and agriculture.

• Regressive Taxation reform, including the implementation of GST and the reduction of top marginal income rate from 66% to 33%.

• Public sector reform - the commercialisation, corporatization and privatisation of State Owned Enterprises (The State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986, State Sector Act 1988 and the Public Finance Act 1989.

Briefly outline two points for and two points against the neoliberal policy regime. 

• For

  • Neoliberalism creates a stronger more efficient and internationally competitive economy (due to market liberalisation)

  • Less taxation of and more rewards for 'wealth creators' (due to tax cuts for the top 10%)

• Against

  • Mass unemployment (used as a tool to keep inflation down but caused many people especially those at the bottom of income earners to lose their jobs)

  • The regressive taxation scheme benefits the top 10% of income earners the most and is unfair for the 70% of income earners on low and middle incomes. This creates wealth inequality.

Define the Third Way of the fifth Labour Government by reference to the First Way and the Second Way

The Third Way is presented as a middle ground between the extensive interventionism of social democratic Keynesianism (1st way), and the free market orientation of neoliberalism (2nd way). Includes more Keynesian social ideas but entrenches neoliberal economic ideas. 

Briefly outline two points for and two points against the Third Way Social Democracy of the Fifth Labour Government

• For:

  • Working for Families helped reduce child poverty and close the gap between rich and poor

  • Politically successful. Labour retained power for nine years. This was the first time they have done this since the First Labour Government (1935-1948)

• Against:

  • Been insufficiently tough on crime

  • The wage gap with Australia had widened under Labour and 'more of your family and friends have left this country permanently' (Key, 2008)

List the four governments that were in power from 1984 to 1990, 1990 to 1999, 1999 to 2008, 2008 to 2017.

• 1984-1990: 4th Labour Government

• 1990-1999: 4Th national Government

• 1990-2008: 5th Labour Government

• 2008-2017: 5th national Government

According to liberal pluralists what are two of the main areas in which citizens can exert influence over government?

• Local government - they can vote for their local government, then the local government represents regional concerns to the central government.

• Electoral system, parliamentary system eg being able to join and participate in political parties, voting in elections

• Interest/Lobby groups eg federated farmers

• Media - the media reports what the government are doing to the citizens but can also provide an avenue for citizens to communicate their views to government through protests and other forms like that

The critics of liberal pluralism argue that business can exert disproportionate influence on government policy-making. Briefly state two points they make.

• Money talks, there are high levels of socio economic inequality in capitalist societies highly unequal distributions of income and wealth. Therefore there is relatively high levels of concentration of economic power in relatively few hands. Socioeconomic inequality leads to political inequality. The people who have money can fun well resourced lobby groups with highly trained personnel who can lobby the government.

• Business interest groups are much better resourced than those representing those which have less money/less wealth and less economic power

Capitalism generates high levels of socio-economic inequality. According to Marxists, this generation of socio-inequality centrally involves a process of _____

What word is missing from this sentence?

exploitation

According to Marxists, what are two key sources of working class power?

• Labour - the key strategic role that workers play in the economic system

• Size of the working class - there are more members in trade unions of the working class than the memberships of the business lobby groups by far, giving them a significant degree of power and influence

What are three major forms of democracy to have emerged thus far in history?

• Athenian democracy where the poor and middling folk rule as they are in the majority. There were also high levels of citizen participation and checks and balances on power

• Liberal representative democracy - key idea that so long as people can vote in free and fair elections it is a democracy

• Socialist democracy which builds on the positive achievements of Athenian democracy, liberal representative democracy. The working class rules, its highly participatory and there is an extensive democratization of the social, economic and political spheres .

Describe one respect in which the shift from FFP to MMP has improved the representativeness of parliament and one respect in which the representativeness of parliament has not improved.

• Improved:

  • Created a more representative parliament in terms of gender, ethnicity and the number of parties in government.

• Not improved

  • The representation of class in parliament, careers such as businessmen, farmers and lawyers are over represented in parliament.

What impact has the shift from Keynesian to neoliberalism in tertiary education policy-making had on: a) student allowance; b) tuition fees; c) student debt?

• Student allowance

  • In the Keynesian error there was relatively universal student allowance. In the current neoliberal era the student allowance is highly targeted to parental income for those under 24. Only 1/3 of students are eligible for a student allowance.

• Tuition fees:

  • Neoliberal era the universities are able to set their own fees which along with the privatization of universities has meant an increase in tuition fees. Neoliberal's have a key belief that education is a commodity thus establishes a user pays (when they start using it) model instead of using progressive taxation system used in the Keynesian era.

• Student debt

  • The Firth Labour government introduced the student loan scheme to help students fund education after the cuts in student allowance. Essentially this means that more students are in debt now (neoliberal era) than in the Keynesian era.

 

When was the Labour Party established and what social movement did it emerge out of?

• It was established in 1916 out of the working class struggles between 1908-1913.

Draw on lecture notes to briefly outline two themes of Labour Party ideology

• The Labour Party's main ideology is Social Democratic reformism they are committed to managing and reforming the social, economic and political status quo rather than transforming it in a radical manner.

• Party that supports the working class

Since it was founded in 1936, the national party has been consistently supported by members of two powerful social classes. What are these classes?

• Farmers

• Businessmen

Draw on lecture notes to briefly outline two themes of National Party Ideology

• Pragmatic conservatism

Conservatism:

• Favors a small government and low taxes

• For representative democracy

Tempered by pragmatism

• Adopts and works within the prevailing economic orthodoxy.

Briefly outline two major policies of one of the following minor parties: ACT, NZ First, Te Pāti Māori, the Greens

Te Pāti Māori:

• Pro Māori unity and those who support a Māori led integration

• Pro economic redistribution via the Waitangi tribunal and a wealth tax.

For several decades, New Zealand has maintained an independent foreign policy and a ‘hedging strategy’ between China, on one side, and the US, Australia, and UK, on the other.

 Briefly outline one reason why New Zealand governments have maintained this approach, and one factor that is making it increasingly difficult for them to do so.

• We have maintained this approach as we have a strong diplomatic reliance on the US, Australia and UK however China is our main trading partner.

• It is becoming increasingly difficult to do this as there are increasing tensions between the USA (and other western allies) and China, with the US increasing the number of military personnel in the surrounding countries of China.

Briefly outline two key points that were made about Kaitiakitanga (guardianship of the natural environment) in the lecture on the climate crisis and intergenerational justice.

• Does not elevate human concerns over those of other earth beings

• Place based with a deep and extensive knowledge of place

• Obligations to leave the environment better than when you received it.

Climate change is an example of injustice between generations. Outline why in a sentence or two.

Climate change is an example of injustice between generations as it has a lag effect which causes burdens for future generations. This is because climate change is a resilient phenomenon which is severely backloaded causing the full effects to be shown in the future.