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== New Zealand == | == New Zealand == | ||
From 1984 to 1989, New Zealand rapidly shifted to a more capitalist society and away from social democracy, with measures such as: | * From 1984 to 1989, [[New Zealand]] rapidly shifted to a more capitalist society and away from social democracy, with measures such as redu | ||
* The results over the next 15 years were catastrophic: | |||
Over 15 years, New Zealand's economy and social capital faced serious problems: the youth suicide rate grew sharply into one of the highest in the developed world;<sup>[47][48]</sup> the proliferation of food banks increased dramatically to an estimated 365 in 1994;<sup>[49][50]</sup> marked increases in violent and other crime were observed;<sup>[51]</sup> | |||
the number of New Zealanders estimated to be living in poverty grew by | |||
at least 35% between 1989 and 1992 while child poverty doubled from 14% | |||
in 1982 to 29% in 1994.<sup>[52][53]</sup> | |||
Those on low incomes failed to return to the 1984 standard of living | |||
until 1996; the lowest 30% did not recover their own 1980s living | |||
standards for twenty years.<sup>[54]</sup> | |||
The health of the New Zealand population was also especially hard-hit, | |||
leading to a significant deterioration in health standards among working | |||
<nowiki> </nowiki>and middle-class people.<sup>[55]</sup> In addition, many of the promised economic benefits of the experiment never materialised.<sup>[56]</sup> Between 1985 and 1992, New Zealand's economy grew by 4.7% during the same period in which the average OECD nation grew by 28.2%.<sup>[57]</sup> From 1984 to 1993 inflation averaged 9% per year, New Zealand's credit rating dropped twice, and foreign debt quadrupled.<sup>[58]</sup> Between 1986 and 1992, the unemployment rate rose from 3.6% to 11%.<sup>[59]</sup> | |||
== References == | == References == | ||
Revision as of 01:04, 25 August 2020
This article outlines the contradictions of authoritarian or capitalism, or the ways in which capitalists contradict their own values. As such, this article takes private property rights, markets and corporations for granted. Even if we as libertarian socialists have our own critiques of these ideas.
General Contradictions
Property Rights
- Capitalists often assert their belief in private property rights, that it's morally unacceptable to violate these and steal from people or coerce them into things. Despite this, history is filled with examples of capitalists contradicting their own principles.
- Capitalist countries like Australia, Brazil, Canada, Finland, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the United States regularly see corporations and the state working to violate the property rights of indigenous communities to make way for development and natural resource extraction. (Specific details are available on each countries page)
- Wage theft is an epidemic in capitalist countries despite it being illegal in all of them.
- A 2017 report by Middlesex University and Trust for London revealed that at least 2 million workers in Britain are losing an estimated £3 billion in unpaid holiday pay and wages per year. It suggested that withholding holiday pay, not paying wages and workers losing a couple of hours money per week are some of the deliberate strategies used by employers to improve their profits.[1]
- A 2012 study by the Iowa Policy Project calculated that dishonest employers defraud Iowa workers out of about $600 million annually in wages.[2]
Australia
- The entire country is built on theft from over 250 indigenous nations that was violently destroyed by the British Empire with a systemic campaign of massacres and segregation. Even today, the special land rights given to indigenous people are frequently violated for the benefit of large corporations.
- A 2019 report put the annual figure for wage theft in Australia at more than $1.35 billion and estimated as much as 13% of the total workforce has been affected – more than a million people.[3]
New Zealand
- From 1984 to 1989, New Zealand rapidly shifted to a more capitalist society and away from social democracy, with measures such as redu
- The results over the next 15 years were catastrophic:
Over 15 years, New Zealand's economy and social capital faced serious problems: the youth suicide rate grew sharply into one of the highest in the developed world;[47][48] the proliferation of food banks increased dramatically to an estimated 365 in 1994;[49][50] marked increases in violent and other crime were observed;[51]
the number of New Zealanders estimated to be living in poverty grew by
at least 35% between 1989 and 1992 while child poverty doubled from 14% in 1982 to 29% in 1994.[52][53]
Those on low incomes failed to return to the 1984 standard of living
until 1996; the lowest 30% did not recover their own 1980s living standards for twenty years.[54]
The health of the New Zealand population was also especially hard-hit,
leading to a significant deterioration in health standards among working and middle-class people.[55] In addition, many of the promised economic benefits of the experiment never materialised.[56] Between 1985 and 1992, New Zealand's economy grew by 4.7% during the same period in which the average OECD nation grew by 28.2%.[57] From 1984 to 1993 inflation averaged 9% per year, New Zealand's credit rating dropped twice, and foreign debt quadrupled.[58] Between 1986 and 1992, the unemployment rate rose from 3.6% to 11%.[59]