Thursday 1 December 2011

A new political alliance?

Guest post by Mark Tammett

As the recent Christchurch earthquakes amply demonstrated, an emergency often brings out the best in people . In these situations individuals tend to put aside their differences and spontaneously co-operate to address the common threat to life and property – whether that be pulling co-workers out of the rubble, delivering food to strangers, or helping to shovel out liquefied muck from their neighbours' driveways. Folk exhibit a focus and determination that’s often not seen in their daily lives.

These situations provide an object lesson in what can be achieved by individuals identifying a common goal and putting aside their differences. The co-operation may be only limited, or even temporary, but tangible gains can thus be made.

In a way, all large and successful companies have to achieve a similar outcome. In a small business you might be lucky enough that every person you work alongside has compatible ethics and personality type. In a big corporation this is never going to happen; statistically it’s not going to happen – and certain people just aren’t going to get on. So it comes down to how senior management can channel those differences towards a common goal – in a way that allows both the goals of the company and those of disparate individuals to be achieved. Two individuals may not like each other, and outside of work want nothing at all to do with each other, but they will co-operate and function with each other effectively if they have a common goal within the business.

In a political context, we face a similar threat to our life and property that’s almost as serious as the earthquake. That threat is runaway government expenditure, and the seeming inability of the large political parties to address the train wreck that is surely coming. Our current welfare state is unsustainable, and is an historical anomaly that cannot continue for much longer. Either it goes, or our relative prosperity has to go.

A large number of individuals in New Zealand are aware of this threat, and to varying degrees want to do something about it. In voting behaviour or political affiliation they are spread across a range of parties – Libertarianz, ACT, Conservatives, and perhaps even a reasonable proportion of (very quiet) Nationals. I would estimate that individuals in this category comprise perhaps 10-15% of the voting public.

However they also disagree on a lot as well. Which means at election time, votes get dispersed and made ineffectual. They are either spread amongst the smaller parties so their vote is less than the 5% thresh-hold - or in the case of the Nationals, buried under the pragmatism of the party machine, which places priority on getting elected ahead of anything else.

The political party that aligns most with my beliefs is Libertarianz. However with their radical agenda I struggle to see getting elected in my lifetime. I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t think I am. They present consistent policy on a wide range of issues, but for most voters it’s too big a chunk to digest. Even if people agree with the gist of it, they struggle to see how we can practically go from what we have now to what Libz proposes. So they cast their vote elsewhere.

imageBy the same token, I don’t believe toning down the message is the right solution either. The average voter may know nothing at all about explicit political philosophy, and have no inkling at all of the unsustainability of our welfare state – but they can  sense insincerity a mile off. If you don’t say what you mean and mean what you say, people will know. You cannot ‘trick’ people into freedom. If you try, voters will sense you’re hiding something, and run a mile – and that I think largely explains the current unpopularity of ACT.

So what do we do then? We want to encourage co-operation in a political context, so we can make some real and tangible gains in rolling back the state. But we can’t afford to to ‘tone-down’ or moderate our true beliefs either.

Well here’s one scenario that I can see which is realistic, and starts to roll back the stage from the 2014 election onwards:

  1. We form a new political alliance. Not a new party, but a new alliance. For instance, and purely for the sake of this discussion let’s call it GERA – the Government Expenditure Reduction Alliance.
  2. This new alliance is focused on achieving a limited and tangible objective: confronting the biggest ‘emergency’ of our current era by drastically reducing government expenditure. We invite a variety of parties to put aside the things we don’t agree on, and be part of this alliance for the 2014 election. It might include Libertarianz, ACT, and even the Conservatives.
  3. Outside of the election campaign, each party, or even individuals within each party continues to focus on whatever issues are important to them. These may be consistent, or they may be inconsistent (depending on your viewpoint). In the case of certain Libz members it may be marijuana legalisation and abolition of the RMA; for ACT the removal of business red tape; for Conservatives the dangers of the ‘demon drink.’ Whatever – to each their own. Unlike the big parties we don’t try to pretend we agree on everything.
  4. However when it comes to the election campaign, we put aside those differences, and campaign on the earthquake-sized economic disaster and the one objective we all do agree on – runaway government expenditure.
  5. GERA’s specific policy for the 2014 election campaign would need to clear and consistent, and also very concrete and specific. Something the average person can clearly understand. For instance it might be a reduction in government expenditure by 10%, or 20 or 25%, via the elimination of specified government departments, all of which are listed and costed out in detail – combined with a reduction in all tax brackets by 2% (or ten) percent across the board. It’s a modest goal, but something that’s politically realistic in the short term – and attacks the government departments or services that most people can do without.
  6. GERA makes it known that if they achieve MP’s, they will not compromise on any level on this policy. Not one iota. If any of the major parties needs their support to form a government, they will have to implement GERA’s policies in total. The GERA platform is modest in terms of our ultimate goal, but it’s a pill that the bigger parties will be able to swallow it if they have to.
  7. I can easily imagine GERA getting 5-10% of the party vote, perhaps 10-15% - and I can easily imagine them holding the balance of power.
  8. One of the major parties agrees to form a government with GERA, on the basis that GERA will not compromise on their limited bottom line. GERA’s policy is implemented, and we start the process of rolling back the state.
  9. Next election GERA comes up, and we redraft another specific policy platform that continues with further changes in the right direction. We continue to roll back the state incrementally because we can command enough vote to hold the balance of the power.

imageSounds easy doesn’t it? And it is.

There is at least one challenge I can see with this, however, something that requires a bit more thought. How would we deal with voting on other matters put before parliament - issues that all members wouldn’t agree on? For instance if a law proposing some form of alcohol prohibition was proposed by the major governing party - Conservatives might be in favour, but Libz would be against. Or the converse would apply if a law providing for liberalization of marijuana were before parliament. If we’re to keep the alliance together, how do we handle this?

One option I can see is that we have the following simple rule: all GERA MP’s will abstain from voting on any issue that is not part of the core GERA platform for that election. This ensures that all members of GERA, and all voters who gave their vote to GERA cannot end up assisting a law they don’t agree with. The result will be same as if the GERA MP’S weren’t there – which is what would happen anyway if GERA was never formed.

Some might protest that this approach is only tinkering. That it doesn’t achieve the radical overhaul needed. Well of course it doesn’t, but it’s at tangible first step. How do you eat an elephant? One mouthful at a time. More importantly, it sets the scene for further and more significant change in latter years. If the average voter doesn’t miss the government departments we abolish in 2014, and can see the tangible benefit of the tax cut in their pay cheque every week, they’ll be motivated to vote for more of the same next election. Along the way, they might start to learn about individual freedom, and why it’s consistent to apply that principle across the board.

It’s often said that political change can only happen once the required philosophical change has happened within people’s heads. I largely agree with this sentiment, but I would add an important qualification: this is not a linear process. Most people do not change their philosophy as a result of reading or listening to speeches, and then go out and implement that in practice. They learn from both hearing the philosophic theory and seeing the results of that theory in concrete practice. A good philosophy encourages good politics, but good politics also encourages good philosophy. People need to see with the tangible benefits of freedom in their own lives.

The scenario I’ve outlined would set up a virtuous circle - whereby people would see the concrete results of greater individual freedom, even if it was only in a limited context. This would encourage philosophic change that was sympathetic to more freedom, which encourages more political change, and so it would go on.

Mark Tammett is a Christchurch engineer and long-time liberty advocate.

22 comments:

Bizarro #1 said...

Would you describe this as being more like Stalin's "Popular Front" or Trotsky's "United Front"?

twr said...

Your problem is that if GERA isn't a party but an alliance of parties, then none of the constituent member parties would achieve the 5% needed for list seats, and even if they did, they wouldn't get the other GERA candidates in because they'd have to have their own lists.

Also, if they abstained on any of their other policy platforms, then there is no point them being there on their own tickets, as they couldn't vote for a bill even if they were the one remaining vote needed to implement something that their party may strongly believe in.

Mark Hubbard said...

This is the first solid proposal for a strategy I think I could live with.

I hope it's given serious thought. Thanks for penning Mark.

Greg said...

However with their radical agenda I struggle to see getting elected in my lifetime. I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t think I am.

They could get elected if they wanted to...just have to forget about the party vote, pick a single swingable electorate, put all their resources behind one member to stand in that electorate, and start /today/ on a door-knocking campaign to know and be known by the residents, with the genuine intention of winning that seat...come next election, they're in parliament; /then/ worry about the party vote and standing people in more electorates for the /next/ election, when you have more visibility.

WWallace said...

This is the most sensible post-election suggestion yet. Well expressed, Mark. I think Lindsay Mitchell is alluding to a similar idea.

Sure, there may be hurdles to overcome. But let's look for the positives, the things that can be agreed upon, and the solutions to the problems, rather than knocking the idea outright.

For example, perhaps we can agree on the principle of "one law for all" and support legislation that increases equality and oppose bills that favour one group over another?

DianeT said...

"We form a new political alliance. Not a new party, but a new alliance."
Like 'twr', I see too many issues with this plan. If a new party, formed by an alliance of different parties, could be set up with an intial platform of 1-3 main targets then promoted under the one banner, I think the impact on the voting public would be stronger than the diversity at the moment.
When each party of the alliance wanted to promote their own unique policies why couldn't it be done through the public submissions to select committees, etc.?

Anonymous said...

I've just read the Lindsay Mitchell blog with the illogical rantings of one "Redbaiter". Some of us have actually read History. I cannot see anything in common with Colin Craig's Conservatives; the Labour Party wing of ACT is no more, but then pretty much the same for the party. But I agree that some sort of coalition/ "market" placement/ strategy needs looking at.
Peter

Anonymous said...

"One law for all" means just that - the same law for youth as for adults is an example - no risible restricted licences and alcohol levels etc.

For most, including ACT, "one law for all" is just about Maori and is little more than race baiting.

Freedom Party could REALLY have one law for all.

Peter Cresswell said...

Well, no. One law for all means one law for all adults. As an adult brain would know.

Dirty Mind said...

How about recruiting Steve Crow from Erotica to lead a rightwing party or perhaps a new Libz party?

He's a freedom lover and not only that, he can make the party visible by promoting pussies?

Anyone supporting Steve Crow for a new Libz Party? Or perhaps Libz pussy party.

Libertyscott said...

Of course one shouldn't forget the Alliance was once exactly this, a coalition of small parties (Greens, New Labour, Mana Motuhake and Democrats (Social Credit)) seeking to make a bigger impact than any would on their own. No prizes for guessing the winner from that lot (Mana Motuhake has, in a sense, done so too).

I wouldn't include the Conservatives within it, because it would tear it all apart I suspect, but it just might be the right way to accommodate differences and advance a common agenda. GERA might not be the right name of course :) (Glasgow East Regeneration Agency)

James said...

GERA..."Germans Enjoy Rogering Austrians"?


;-0

Sean Fitzpatrick said...

Excellent and well thought out ideas here. Currently there is a fair bit of realignment going on that may lead to new parties or renewed ones so once this process is settled Mark's idea is a good strategic blueprint for 'step 2'.

Dave Christian said...

I can’t support any of those parties; because they are all infected with the virus of sabre-rattling interventionism, which always and everywhere kills individual liberty. I would support and work for GERA.

Jeremy Harris said...

Why would the members have to abstain on non-economic issues? Why not allow them to vote their own minds on all non-economic issues.

The GERA can be a united economic front and the government would have to lobby for individual votes on other matters. This is actually freedom enhancing also, a departure from the mundane "whipping" of votes within our current parties.

twr said...

With quotes like the following on the Stuff website, I think you've got a long way to go to change the mindset of the citizens:

"People who offered cash jobs seemed to have a mentality of "keeping the Government out of it".

"It's them saying, `Let's stop them from getting their hands on our money'. Well, it's just so stupid – it's not their money, it's the country's money. I think it's corrupt, I think it's irresponsible.""

Mark Hubbard said...

twr's quotation is perhaps the best example of how far we've traveled from a free society.

An interesting proposition to put to the author of the quote would be that as his education, provided by the taxpayer, must be responsible for whatever he writes, he cannot put his name to any article he publishes in Stuff, his intellectual property belongs to the country, not to him, and the money he is paid for such articles belongs to the country not to him, so when he pens an article, Stuff can pay his fee, sorry, the country's fee, direct to the consolidated fund.

I wonder how much effort he would then continue to put into his occupation of writing for Stuff. I then wonder if he would have the intellectual ability to broaden that implication out to a societal level.

(Sounds dumb enough to be a CA though, twr, was it?)

PaulB said...

I think the quote was actually taken from Kevin Milne; ex Fair Go guy.

Try substituting "money" for "labour"...

twr said...

Yes, it was Kevin Milne, but it's a good summary of too many people's thinking, which is why I didn't bother attributing it.

Blair said...

I think this could be put into effect with one simple concept: Preferential Party Vote.

If this could be introduced before the next election, libertarians could really make an impact, as every vote would count. We should campaign hard for it.

Ashley said...

The key issue (pun intended) is that the two main parties want to be in power, first and foremost.

Therefore, the Red/Green or Blue blocs will only support measures that improve freedom and reduce government, if "we" support a bloc on confidence and supply.

i.e. we "must" vote for whatever is in the budget if we want them to vote to reduce the state somewhere else, quid pro quo.

naturally would be arguing for a minimalist budget in negotiations --- but if wanted a tangible reduction to government expenditure or control somewhere, will in all likelihood mean that in the 'quid pro quo' have to support all other EXISTING welfare policies e.g. working-for-families, interest-on-student-loans etc policies.

Is this something the social liberal - small government - legalise cannabis 'alliance' is willing to accept politically?

Panther said...

LibertyScott has an comment here.