NZ WI: No Ruthanasia

What if the New Zealand never got https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruthanasia ? Let's say that National is still the government, but does not pursue such radical policies. What happens to New Zealand? What if?

Let's apply some theory?

The purpose of neo-liberalism has been to reconfigure state aid from labour power to financial capital. In large part this is because:

a) The problems of labour power quality were viewed as solved
b) Remaining problems (revolutionary constructions of the proletariat) were viewed as insoluble by improving labour power quality (Higher Education was viewed as a source of rabble rousers, unemployment benefit wasn't ameliorating radicalism)
c) Manufacturing was no longer a high profit sector, having been replaced by culture, IT, and the gamble of finance (largely to Asian manufacturing)
d) Finance capital started exerting its power against individual nation states

What methods would finance capital use to discipline New Zealand for failing to reform labour relations and benefits?

NZ government debt was running 60-70% of gdp, split evenly between domestic and international debt (http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for...ccounts/long-term-data-series/government.aspx).

Its dollar was 0.55-0.60 USD.

I'd suggest finance capital would strangle National and tank the dollar, forcing the government to choose what it would cut.

New Zealand's economy is incapable of autarky, its export profile puts it as semi-periphery.

So if National don't attempt to destroy the NZ working class, finance capital will attempt to destroy National.

Expect the next Labour government to implement precisely the kind of anti-union anti-worker guff that national did IOTL, with a tinge of pink paint slapped over the top.

yours,
Sam R.
 
I think that if the NZ economy does not do too badly, National will be more popular, and might keep power until 2002. Also, I think MMP could be rejected if there is not such a desire for change, as it only won 54% of the vote to 46% for FPP. That would have huge butterflies.
 
Top