Voice from the past calls for new future

The left-leaning (they’d say “progressive”) Fabian Society, once a big influence on Don Brash (true!), is back on the scene in New Zealand calling for “a wider debate” on economic policy including “a wider range of progressive options and solutions to consider and discuss”.

So the society’s launching a seminar and lecture series this month and next in  Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch focusing on tax and budget issues.

The ‘there is no alternative’ approach to fiscal matters has stifled debate and is no longer acceptable, the society says.

However, if the lecture series is confined to tax and budget issues it seems to BigCake that there will be a bit of stifling going on.

A core BigCake belief is that it is a narrow interpretation of our economic problems that is holding New Zealand back.

I agree that “the public discourse for many years has been limited to the solutions of the neo-liberal right. They haven’t worked.”

But there are a hell of a lot of more effective and interesting options out there in policy land than “budget and tax issues”.

The Fabian Society sees itself as “a progressive think tank to balance those on the right”.

BigCake, who is getting on a bit, sort of sees the Fabian as quaintly old fashioned (and not necessarily in a bad way in terms of their core values), so it’ll be interesting to see if they will be around longer this time and what real influence they have.

The society has had an off and on existence in New Zealand, though it has been at times a powerful influence.

In a 2004 Listener interview, Don Brash confessed: “Most of my young adult life I voted Labour, and I took a Fabian socialist kind of view, that the government had an obligation to help disadvantaged people, and the only way to do that was by writing out cheques, redistributing wealth, the whole socialist thing.”

I think the Fabians were also exerted a powerful influence on former PM David Lange.

Famous British members include George Bernard Shaw and HG Wells.

In the UK the Fabians are affiliated with the Labour Party and all Labour Prime Ministers have been members.

Not sure whether New Zealand Society has similar ties. Their website doesn’t say.