A clean, green, egalitarian nation. One that cares deeply for its people and wildlife, all of whom exist within a beautiful, isolated bubble of freedom, safety, and prosperity. At least, that’s what New Zealand likes to go around bragging about. But when you take a deeper, harder look at this country, it is apparent that we have some pretty big problems on our hands: a struggling healthcare system, atrocious mental health statistics, a housing crisis, and widening wealth inequality. And if you ask me, it can all be traced back to one thing: neoliberalism.
Neoliberalism is a big word, so let’s break it down right away. I guarantee that even if you don’t know what it means, you know exactly what it feels like; neoliberalism is essentially industrialised capitalism. It’s “the system”. It’s trusting “the market” to sort out any and all problems that might arise. It focuses on eliminating regulation, lowering trade barriers, increasing privatisation, and moving away from a “state controlled" approach. It’s the system of governance that’s allowed the 1% to balloon and keep us all under their thumb, and it’s harming this country. Couple this with our tall poppy syndrome and attitude towards inequality, and we have ourselves a bit of a situation.
Wealth inequality data from Statistics New Zealand shows that the average person in the 1% is worth $6.2 million. In contrast, the typical New Zealander is worth only $92,000 – 68 times less. The wealthiest 10% have 59% of all the country’s assets, and the middle class around 39%. The poorest half of the country has only 2% of its assets. Those in arguably the most important jobs, like teaching and nursing, tend to work longer hours for less pay than the people who sit on the boards that employ them. New Zealand has some of the worst wealth inequality in the OECD, and if that doesn’t ring alarm bells, I’m not sure what will. Something is clearly not working, and something is clearly allowing this division to grow. That thing is the neoliberal agenda.
Every single government we’ve had since 1984 has upheld the neoliberal agenda. They pretend like they’re different options, but both Labour and National offer exclusively neoliberal solutions to fundamentally existential problems. If you ask the National Party, they’ll probably tell you that everything sucks because you “aren’t good at having fiscal responsibility”, or that the Red Team “spent too much taxpayer money”. If you ask the Labour Party, they’ll tell you that the Blue Team has “underfunded public services” and that’s why you can’t see a doctor. But it’s all good, because at least their cabinet is more diverse than those old white guys. Neither of these explanations actually do anything to address the root problem, which is that our entire system of living is based on the assumption that following the market is the only way forward. Like it’s some sort of crystal fucking ball that can never be wrong.
And whenever there has been a sheepish proposal to perhaps shift a few inches away from the neoliberal agenda, everyone loses their shit. We saw it with Jacinda’s proposal for a capital gains tax; all the landlords acted like she was going to personally come and rip their rentals up from the ground when, in reality, they were simply going to pay a tiny fraction of tax on their assets - ones that have already given them a bountiful amount of privilege and wealth. We see it whenever there’s a minimum wage increase, or with first-year fees free, or a carbon tax, or increases to social welfare. It seems to be the moment someone suggests we level the playing field and maybe make things a little more equitable, we are immediately going to enter some kind of communist hellscape. It’s like a bunch of kids in the schoolyard getting mad that you have a toy they don’t. We’ve pulled the ladder up after ourselves and God help you if you didn’t make it in time.
Neoliberalism is that "the free-er the market, the free-er the people” bullshit. Neoliberalism is why we abuse the land for dairy products that we don’t even consume on our shores. It’s the rise of individualism and having “personal responsibility”, and that if you got dealt a bad hand, well, fuck you. Work harder. Neoliberalism is synonymous with capitalism, globalisation, and finance bros from rich families who call themselves “self-made”. Neoliberalism is Instagram “hustle culture”, not that there’s much hustle in that. Neoliberalism is why your boomer uncle Jim tells you that the reason you can’t afford a $1 million hovel in Auckland is because you buy too many oat milk iced lattes, even though he went to university for free and bought his four-bed, two-bath Ponsonby villa for $10 and a goat back in the day.
Neoliberalism, ‘The Man’, whatever label you wish to use, is part of the reason university is such a stressful place. Neoliberalism has commodified everything, even education. A vast majority of us come to university, take out staggering loans, and enrol in degrees we hope will get us a measly, entry-level grad job that pays just enough to cover life’s necessities. Most of us are too busy studying, working, and worrying about the looming debt over our heads to think about if it’s even possible to change that situation.
It’s not your fault that your grad job salary is less than your loan. It’s not your fault you can’t buy a house. It’s not your fault that you feel paralysed. It’s because a bunch of old white dudes decided what was “best for you” 50 years ago and we’ve stuck with that plan. Because it’s not best for you; it’s best for them.
New Zealand is a far better place to live than most other countries on this burning planet, but it’s time we come face to face with reality. We’re all exhausted, our health and education systems are hanging on by a thread, our infrastructure is a disaster, our wealth inequality is one of the worst in the OECD, and we’ve actually done very little to protect the natural environment we are apparently so proud to have. And the root of all this, I think, can be traced down to one thing: neoliberalism. Fuck the system. If we don’t change it, no one will.