The Interregnum: Rethinking New Zealand

by Morgan Godfery

‘The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear’ – Antonio Gramsci

Is New Zealand’s political settlement beginning to fray? And does this mean we’re entering the interregnum, that ambiguous moment between society-wide discontent and political change? In BWB’s latest book of essays, edited by Morgan Godfery, ten of New Zealand’s sharpest emerging thinkers gather to debate the ‘morbid symptoms’ of the current moment, from precarious work to climate change, and to discuss what shape change might take, from ‘the politics of love’ to postcapitalism.

The Interregnum interrogates the future from the perspective of the generation who will shape it.

Contributors: Andrew Dean, Max Harris, Lamia Imam, Chloe King, Daniel Kleinsman, Edward Miller, Courtney Sina Meredith, Carrie Stoddart-Smith, Wilbur Townsend and Holly Walker.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction

147 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 14, 2016

Reviews

[Keen Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Within the space of a few years, New Zealand was transformed from one of the most protected economies in the western world to one of the least.”

This collection of political essays mostly hit the spot. There is an anger and urgency about them, particularly in the first half which really finds its mark, though to be fair it does kind of drift and lose momentum in the second half.

“Changing your attitude is not going to dismantle structural injustice, racism, classism or sexism, nor will it fix a failed economic model that largely serves the elite.”

We see that thanks to the phenomenal efforts and cash of lobbyists, carbon credits were chosen over carbon taxes. In 2008 the Labour government established the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Ultimately NZ overshot their initial Kyoto target by 20% forcing the government to use credits from pre-existing forests to game the system. National soon pulled NZ out of the Kyoto agreement in 2012, showing the rest of the world, exactly what their commitment was to climate change.

“We worship the Good Job: the guaranteed hours, the fifteen minutes for smoko and the half hour for lunch. Even as our best hours are taken from us, we rejoice at compensation that is little more than a smidgen of our worth, a Stockholm syndrome of thankful labour.”

The spectres of Roger “Rogernomics” Douglas and Ruth “Ruthanasia” Richardson haunt these pages, the rampant deregulation and feverish cutbacks which led to the likes of The Reserve Bank Act 1989 and The Employment Contracts Act 1991 all helped towards making NZ one of the most unequal societies in the developed world.

“By 2013 New Zealand was producing almost 25% more greenhouse gases than in 1990.”

Yes there were certainly times where I was cringing or shouting in disgust at the text, but hey isn’t that all part of the fun. So there are definitely a couple of duds in here, but the ones which are good are really good and for that reason I would say that this short little collection is most certainly worth the read.

“We can be more than our nostalgia, we can dream beyond the stable, well-paid and completely soulless jobs of the twentieth century.”

[Tara Brabazon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid book and a strong rendering of the - quite distinctive - neoliberal narratives in Aotearoa / New Zealand. There are some tremendous chapters, but also some identity-politics infused - here is my data point of one - 'studies.' Overall, this is a solid book, with attention to the specificity of a small island nation that is pummeled by the vagaries of neoliberalism.

[Aaron · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was perhaps inevitable that this collection of essays on New Zealand's current state of political and economic affairs would descend into a garbled whinge-fest about how loveless everything is since the Nats took power.

Luckily, at only 70-odd pages it was a quick read, because my *wooooord* the sanctimonious sermonising was tedious.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Supremely inspiring (despite a good supply of fluffiness, which I'd advise others to embrace as symptomatic of a manifesto).