Judicial independence and the reliance on tikanga in New Zealand courts
A Sacred Trust Betrayed
A Sacred Trust Betrayed
03 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economic history, economics of education, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: constitutional law
The left does not have a monopoly on empathy
03 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in election campaigns, environmentalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand
Ani O’Brien writes – Compassion for me, contempt for thee: Chloe Swarbrick and the politics of selective compassion. When a man approached the home of New Zealand First leader Winston Peters with a crowbar last year, Peters was not home. However, when the man shattered a window sending glass raining down on Kobe the black […]
The left does not have a monopoly on empathy
Polynesian navigation and Indigenous “ways of knowing”
02 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of education, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, transport economics Tags: political correctness, regressive left
Jerry Coyne writes – One of the most-cited empirical achievements of indigenous peoples is the ability of Polynesians, Melanesians, and Micronesians to navigate their way across vast, unmarked expanses of the Pacific Ocean to get to small, uninhabited islands. How did they do it? And, regardless of their navigational methods, how many attempted voyages failed, […]
Polynesian navigation and Indigenous “ways of knowing”
The Morally Bankrupt Death Cult of Che Guevara, Part II
01 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in development economics, growth disasters, liberalism, libertarianism, Marxist economics Tags: Cuba
As part of my 2017 series on the tragic history of communism, I wrote a column about the bizarre affection on the left for Che Guevara. Why is it bizarre? Well, watch this video. I hardly need to add anything. Che Guevara was a reprehensible human being. So the rest of this column will recycle […]
The Morally Bankrupt Death Cult of Che Guevara, Part II
Crime and Politics
31 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in politics - New Zealand, law and economics, economics of crime, Marxist economics Tags: crime and punishment, criminal deterrence, law and order
One of the most persistent differences between the political left and right concerns their attitudes towards crime and punishment. Broadly speaking, the right tends to emphasise personal responsibility, deterrence and punishment, while the left is more inclined to emphasise the social causes of crime, rehabilitation and the circumstances of offenders. These are generalisations, of course, […]
Crime and Politics
John McWhorter goes back to antiwoke
28 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of education, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left
The other day I expressed dismay that NYT writer John McWhorter produced a piece heartily endorsing land acknowledgments (“LA”s). That was out of character for a man who got a lot of attention for his “antiprogressive” stands, encapsulated in his book Woke Racism: How a New Religion Has Betrayed Black America. My objection to the…
John McWhorter goes back to antiwoke
The Law Society has a problem
22 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left
I blogged in March about an outrageous decision by a Law Society Standards Committee decision which fined Stephen Franks and Franks Ogilvy for the sin of “being lawyers”. I wrote: The Legal Complaints Review Officer overturned the decision, noting: The very purpose of a lawyer or firm sending a letter on behalf of a client…
The Law Society has a problem
Guest Post: Woke 1 was crazy. Are you ready for Woke 2?
22 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of crime, gender, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left
A guest post by Alex Penk: “Woke 1” was crazy. Don’t take my word for it; that’s what Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said. The globally influential US politician made the comment when asked to explain some of her past positions, like defunding the police, and the internet went, well, crazy. But the most interesting thing is what the…
Guest Post: Woke 1 was crazy. Are you ready for Woke 2?
Guest Post: Max Harris
17 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, laws of war, liberalism, Marxist economics, war and peace Tags: Gaza Strip, Israel, Middle-East politics, regressive left, useful idiots, war against terror
A guest post by Juliet Moses: I recently heard Max Harris, the Labour Party candidate for Tamaki, speak at an event. He introduced himself as having a “strong moral compass”. That’s a bit odd, I thought, and more than a bit self-righteous. Sometimes you hear someone describing someone else that way, but not self-identifying as such.…
Guest Post: Max Harris
Socialism at Its Finest: The U.S. Transit Industry
16 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in Marxist economics, politics - USA, transport economics, urban economics
A recent Gallup poll found that 43 percent of Americans have a positive view of socialism, the highest share since the polling firm began asking the question in 2010. The greatest support, 57 percent, comes from people under age 35 who weren’t yet born when the fall of the Soviet … Continue reading →
Socialism at Its Finest: The U.S. Transit Industry
Gangs are organised crime, not a community group
16 Oct 2026 1 Comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: 2026 general election
The Herald reports: Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick won’t say if she would have advised her MP Hūhana Lyndon against meeting with members of the Mongrel Mob. After being asked the question twice, Swarbrick said she needed to “understand more of the context as to what has played out here”, although she earlier said having…
Gangs are organised crime, not a community group
The Story of Russia by Orlando Figes 3: the rise of Stalin
15 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in economic history, Marxist economics Tags: Russia
These are my notes on chapter 9 of Orlando Figes’ immensely readable History of Russia. The previous chapter dealt with the revolution and the Bolshevik victory in the Russian civil wars. This one is about Soviet history in the 1920s and ’30s. New Economic Policy In the early 1920s, as they won the civil war […]
The Story of Russia by Orlando Figes 3: the rise of Stalin
Pay parity
12 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of regulation, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, poverty and inequality Tags: gender wage gap
Bruce Logan writes – On many issues, it’s hard to discern where Labour and National differ. However, one issue highlights a real difference: the demand for pay equity. Labour supports it; see the Equal Pay Act Amendment 2020. National, at least for now, opposes it; see the Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025. But first, to […]
Pay parity
Bret Stephens on Mamdani
11 Oct 2026 1 Comment
in defence economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: war against terror
If you’ve kept track of NYT Mayor Zohran Mamdani since he was elected less than a year ago, it’s not hard to conclude that, though he pretends to dislike bigotry, his statements and actions add up to a man who is not fond of Jews, and who wants Israel gone and replaced by a Palestinian…
Bret Stephens on Mamdani
Welfare missing from 2026 election
07 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in labour economics, labour supply, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, poverty and inequality, welfare reform Tags: 2026 general election
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Welfare is markedly missing from 2026 election campaign issues.There’s been far more debate about Super: its cost, means-testing and the age of eligibility. New Zealand is an outlier. Australia, the UK and the US have a qualifying age of 67. Whether NZ joins must be decided. Super isn’t sustainable. But what […]
Welfare missing from 2026 election
Recent Comments