It's all about politics( including educational reform). Market Forces ideology has demeaned the common good.

A rock star lifestyle for  the rich elite!

Time to move away from 'rock star' leaders

A recent article in local  our paper said that maybe we need to move away from ‘rock star’ leaders. Maybe ,it suggested ,that leaders need to be some sort of charming rock star is a myth’ and ‘one that is detrimental to the success of any organisation’.

Qualities of good leaders

Which one exhibit over confidence?

‘Good leaders’, says professor of business psychology Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic (University College of London and New York Columbia University), ‘have four general qualities. The first is trustworthiness and integrity, the second is good judgement. The third is having a vision,- a compelling story that persuades a team to put aside their own selfish agendas and to work for the collective good’. The fourth quality is self-awareness, and it is a lack of this that can result in an ‘epidemic of overconfidence’.

It is interesting to compare National’s John Key and Labour's Andrew Little on these qualities.

Time to let go of the 'free market' knows best myth.

What happened to the 'trickle down'?

Our current ‘rock star economy’ is based on the belief that the ‘market knows best’ along with the idea that self-interested individuals need to be free to develop their selfish agendas. For the less fortunate the wealth created was supposed to ‘trickle down’ but this has also been a myth. The rich have got richer and the poor poorer.

Free market in free fall.

The ‘rock star economy’ is now at risk as milk prices fall and as the Chinese economy is showing signs of ‘speed wobbles’ - the 'great fall of China'. It seems our success was more to do with forces outside our own borders than political leadership. Simply leaving the logic of the free market to work without constraint has developed  an elite owning the lion’s share of any wealth generated. The collective good has been forgotten; there has been a stagnation of average and median earnings.

Time for an alternative vision.

The time is right to right to develop an alternative story. Thirty years of market forces politics has created a very unequal society. Issues about sustainability and ensuring that all citizens are able to contribute and benefit need to be placed back at the centre of the debate.

A n inclusive vision

A challenge for Andrew Little and Labour.

Andrew Little and the Labour Party need to develop a new vision for our country that will  not only make up for current ‘market imperfections’ but also lead us in a new direction.. We need a vision that sees a stronger role for the government to construct a more democratic, humane and caring society to ensure all citizens get a fair deal.

'Free market' policies flawed.

New Zealand is no longer the egalitarian society we once proud of and growing inequality is placing a strain on the social fabric of our country. As well the emphasis on growth at any cost, consumerism and a deregulated financial ‘free for all’ is placing the sustainability of our environment at risk.

Free market policies are now being seen as flawed – the rise in inequality the obvious symptom.

Now is the time to develop a vision that creates the opportunity for everyone to get a fair share.  Currently we are at risk of letting an elite rich shape the future of our country.

The real winners

Inequality and climate change the defining challenges of our time

Inequality and climate change are becoming the defining challenges of our time. After three decades of ‘market forces’ there is developing a sense of unease or discontent felt by those who find it hard to see themselves as ‘winners’. This unease will grow as the upwardly mobile middle classes find  their future  being placed at risk
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We need an inclusive model that serves all citizens.

We need a new model of economic growth that serves the needs of all based on decent work, environmentally sustainable development and economic of production for social ends – growth that has the potential to put more life into regional economies. 

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We need to have a conversation about what kind of country we want to be? 

We need to look at successful countries that have avoided such inequality; countries that have not gone so far down the market forces ideology.

Time to value the collective good.

Political decision need to be made to ensure that the collective good is protected and that all citizens are given every opportunity to contribute to the nation’s wealth. New infrastructures and public services need to be developed.  Democracy needs to be reinvigorated to respect the ‘voices’ of all citizens? New directions   in health, education taxation, housing, power provision and welfare need to be in place to ensure all can contribute according to their talents?

Thirty year experiment has had it day.

Market forces and privatisation that have dominated New Zealand politics for thirty years has failed to produce a healthy society that all feel part of. The consequences of such thinking  now need to be faced up to.

A vision to get through rough times

An opportunity to develop a better vision.

The situation we now find ourselves in provides an opportunity to draw together a vision of a better world. It is an opportunity to challenge the ideology that underpins ‘market forces’ of the minimal state, privatisation and speculation and to replace them with principles based on democracy, justice, sustainability, redistribution and collaboration.

We need thinking leads to a new vision to take our country into a more successful future for all members of our society not just an elite few; a country that will be a fit place for the younger members of our country to inherit.

Need to speak out about 'free market' failure.

Andrew Little and the Labour Party need to speak out against the present inadequacies of current policies and to speak out about the advantages of a more equal society. They have the challenge of developing in the public understanding of what is at stake. The advantages of freedom and choice, promised by ‘market forces’ are limited to the rich –  while the rest of the population  move further into debt.

 Well said Pope Francis!

We need a vision of a better society

Time to make a choice

 But most of all the Labour Party needs to articulate  vision of a better society that is both achievable and inspiring ; one capable of developing meaningful reforms; a vision where the talents and skills of all citizens are seen as the countries major resource. 

As the article in the paper referred to said there is a need for ‘a vision- a compelling story that persuades a team to put aside their own selfish agendas and to work for the common good’. We just ust need to replace ‘team’ with ‘country’.

It is time for real choices to be made.

There is an alternative