An oldy but a goody

If you are one of those people who, like me, wonders about the future of western liberalism, then I suggest you check out this excellent article by Eric Kaufmann ( published in Prospect magazine in late 2006).

Here’s one of the key paragraphs:

“Perhaps we are entering a new stage in history in which the demographic flaws in liberalism will become more apparent, paving the way for the return of a communitarian social model. This may still leave democracy, liberalism and mixed capitalism intact. But it will challenge modernism, that great secular movement of cultural individualism which swept high art and culture after 1880 and percolated down the social scale to liberalise attitudes in the 1960s. Cultural modernism has accompanied technological modernisation in the west, while the non-western world has usually modernised its technology rather than its values. Daniel Bell prophesied that modernism's antinomian cultural outlook would prompt a "great instauration" of religion as people sought spiritual solace from the alienation of modern life. Bell has so far been proved wrong, but history may yet vindicate him as we bear witness not to spiritual revival, but to a religious reconquista based, ironically, on the nakedly this-worldly force of demography. “

Hide's hypocrisy

Considering that the Act Party is supposed to be the libertarian party of the "rugged individual," I am mystified as to why its leader Rodney Hide has stooped to PC nanny statery in calling for the resignation of Trevor Mallard, following Mallard's minor fracas with National politician Tau Henare.

Mallard has apologised for his actions, the apology has been accepted, and no physical damage has been done.

To my mind, to call for someone’s resignation over such a trivial incident is petty party point scoring of the lowest kind, and yet another example of how the liberal right can't be trusted in the fight against political correctness.

I try not to get personal on posts, but I have to admit this guy is really beginning to annoy me.

Quote for the week

“For true blissed-out and vacant servitude, though, you need an otherwise sophisticated society where no serious history is taught.”
- Christopher Hitchens.

NZ Conservative - Rugby World Cup silliness

As a bit of light relief, here's an idea for a BCC TV show:

Robin Hood: Prince of Chauvinists

Revisionist historical drama featuring various members of the England rugby team in some of the key roles.

Episode One: Robin tries to win back the favour of angry villagers after saving a group of gipsies from Sir Guy’s henchmen, meanwhile, his aunt Agnes falls foul of the Sheriff for trying to form a union among a group of Nottingham faggot carriers.

Robin Hood: Johnny Wilkinson
Robin’s Aunt: Germaine Greer
Will Scarlet: Ray Winstone
The Sheriff of Nottingham: Lawrence Dallaglio
Maid Marion: Justine Waddell (reliable period drama standby called in following unresolvable pay dispute with Kate Beckinsale)
Sir Guy of Gisbourne: Josh Lewsey
King John: Mike Catt
Vaguely middle eastern looking Saracen: Jason Robinson
Director: Lucy Upper
Producer: Quentin Redbrick
Music by Enya and Massive Attack

Warning: contains anachronistic language (such as excessive use of the phrase “innit” by Winstone) and historically improbable themes of a multi-cultural nature.

Diffusing New Zealand’s looming race bomb.

In a feature article in last month’s Press (“steady as she goes,” September 15, D3, not online) Helen Clarke is quoted as saying National have “policies which dare not speak their name.”

Clarke does not elaborate on what sort of policies she is referring to, but her cryptic comment suggests these “policies” include National’s approach to race issues.

In 2004 National leader Don Brash tried to start a serious debate on current race relations between Maori and European New Zealanders when he argued in his Orewa speech that it was unsustainable for European and Asian New Zealanders to continue to subsidise a growing Maori population.

However, following National’s loss in the 2005 election, and the replacement of Brash with the Cameronesque PR man John Key, race was quickly swept back under the carpet.

Although Brash deserves some recognition for mentioning a difficult and important issue, the right liberal policies he prescribes are probably a maladaptive solution to the problem.

The main issue with race in New Zealand is arguably not poor race relations or race-based policies, as Brash claims, but a pervasive inability to acknowledge demographic imbalances.As the current ethic strife countries such as Lebanon, Israel, South Africa and France illustrate, different rates of demographic growth between races and cultures often lead to serious conflict.

Over the last hundred years, the Maori population has been growing at a faster rate than the European population, yet has been consuming a disproportionate percentage of taxes.

Despite, efforts to address historical grievances over land confiscations and the marginalisation of Maori culture, Maori still lag behind in terms of income, health outcomes, unemployment rates and education levels, as well having higher imprisonment rates. Added to this is the fact that the country’s growing Polynesian population also consumes a disproportionate share of health and welfare spending.

The response of both Labour and National over the past 17 years has been to increase immigration of educated workers from Europe, India and East Asia to expand the overburdened tax base.

Unfortunately, increased immigration has been a double-sword. Higher housing costs have meant fewer Maori and Polynesians have been able to afford to homes, thus increasing their dependency of welfare, and more European New Zealanders have left overseas, in part, because wage rates have failed to keep up with the increased cost of housing and education.

While Australia, Canada, and the United States also have problems with economically under-performing indigenous populations, their indigenous peoples form a much smaller percentage of their populations, so they are less of an economic burden.

With an aging white population increasingly dependent on the state for health and pension spending, there is likely to be increasing pressure on the government to reduce spending on low-income families at a time when Maori politicians are making increasing demands on the government to increase such spending and reduce immigration.

This situation puts the limited immigration supporting New Zealand First Party in a difficult position. Although rising commodity prices are making immigration restrictionism more economically justifiable, the country’s multi-cultural divisions appear to be acting as a significant break on productivity.

Money that previously went into long-term infrastructure development and research and development programmes is now going into such things as increased spending on law and order to manage an increasingly diverse population which is unable to manage itself.

At the global level, the majority of countries with high productivity rates, such as Korea and Japan, tend to be either culturally homogenous or, like the United States, are large enough to compete on economies on scale - New Zealand can’t compete under either criteria.

In the long run, the only solution out of this bind may be political union with Australia. In a combined Australian/New Zealand state, the Maori population would be less of a demographic threat to a European population of over 20 million, while New Zealand would not need to worry so much about skilled workers moving across the Tasman. Similarly, there would be less of an economic argument in favour of increasing immigration in order to expand the tax base.

Sadly though, it’s unlikely there is going to be any serious debate about this issue until the baby boomer generation starts retiring in about 5 years - by which time the government will be in a more fiscally desperate situation.

Common sense on climate change

It's refreshing to see Rodger Kerr of the business round table beginning to acknowledge there may be a down side to moving western manufacturing firms to China.

"There is a fundamental lack of logic in seeking to scale back internationally efficient industries such as agriculture, aluminium and steel when the production shortfall may be taken up by industries in other countries that generate greater emissions."

While it is probably unrealistic to try and protect labour intensive industries from Asian competition, energy intensive industries which depend on technology rather than cheap wages, should not be easily surrended.

Overseas readers may also be interested to know that while NZ's Labour government often criticises Australia and the US for not signing up to the Kyoto Protocol, it encourages New Zealand firms to export significant quantities of coal half way across the world to Japan - go figure.

Peak oil and progress

A thought provoking post from UK blogger Sabretache on Britain's looming energy crisis ("Living in la-la land").

It's a pity there aren't more British and Commonwealth bloggers who are willing to think "outside the box" and question prevailing right-liberal ideology.