It's hard to ignore the fact that the media have been cheerleaders for this distortion, calling the left 'progressive' without question, and the right classified into extremes of right, far right, extreme right or ultra right. The chilling fact is that the media have an agenda. Why this should be so can be laid at the door of our universities who seem to have taken their Marxist instructors to heart.
Well said. You've hit on one point that I might draw out another time and that is MSM use nicer labels of the 'far left' ie. they call them progressives; social justice advocates etc
Well put together post. I would postulate that of the political movements that actually matter The Greens would be the furthest left and they aren’t even particularly extreme. Labour have mostly abandoned the left and are now only marginally off centre. Unfortunately I suspect that a lot of NZ'ers have leftward views in that they expect everything to be done for them by the government of the day.
Where I would disagree with most commentators is the position on the spectrum of Te Pati Maori - they are usually conflated as being of the left however like most "populist" parties I think they are well to the right of centre. They have no policies other than maximum power and influence for their ethnicity - one could charitably call their attitude to the rest of the population as bordering on fascist.
I think, ultimately, the far left and far right are almost the same thing. I often talk of the left to right continuum not being a straight line, but more like a horse shoe. That is, the more extreme people become on the left and right, the more alike - or close together - they are.
This was a very good read and fascinating. Worrying too! I would think NZ would be similar at some points, but seeing we don't have the breadth of media I can't help feel (as only anecdotal evidence!) our results would be more pronounced.
Very well expressed and in need of thoughtful consideration, particularly by reporters who have lost their moral plumbline separating truth from lies and are attempting to replace it with baseless verbal assertions.
That would be because the Establishment (aka the Power-that-be) is now the left and what was the Far Left is now the Left (point in case our proud socialist comrade Keiran McAnulty). Note I say the Establishment, not the Majority - one day (I don’t know when) the forces of (human) nature will rectify.
I think history often swings like a pendulum. Those once benefiting from the likes of free speech, a somewhat objective media are now happy to pull up the ladder so to speak. We should both push back against this but also learn so as not to repeat their failures when things do rectify/swing back.
I consider these woke progressives as being ultra-conservatives, and ultra fearful of anything that threatens their narrative. That is why they whine about micro-aggressions, while screaming like banshees at any perceived injustice. That is why we just have to ignore them till they fade away like snowflakes do. Darwin would have called them losers in the competition of life. They are over-represented in the Media, and in Labour and Greens supporters, and needed to be voted out.
It's hard to ignore the fact that the media have been cheerleaders for this distortion, calling the left 'progressive' without question, and the right classified into extremes of right, far right, extreme right or ultra right. The chilling fact is that the media have an agenda. Why this should be so can be laid at the door of our universities who seem to have taken their Marxist instructors to heart.
Well said. You've hit on one point that I might draw out another time and that is MSM use nicer labels of the 'far left' ie. they call them progressives; social justice advocates etc
The labels have long since become meaningless as another writer has mentioned regularly trumpeted by media outlets who mistake opinion for news.
Agreed. What I have struggled with is what to replace them with. And yes to opinion to being mistaken for news! That drives me mad.
Well put together post. I would postulate that of the political movements that actually matter The Greens would be the furthest left and they aren’t even particularly extreme. Labour have mostly abandoned the left and are now only marginally off centre. Unfortunately I suspect that a lot of NZ'ers have leftward views in that they expect everything to be done for them by the government of the day.
Where I would disagree with most commentators is the position on the spectrum of Te Pati Maori - they are usually conflated as being of the left however like most "populist" parties I think they are well to the right of centre. They have no policies other than maximum power and influence for their ethnicity - one could charitably call their attitude to the rest of the population as bordering on fascist.
I think, ultimately, the far left and far right are almost the same thing. I often talk of the left to right continuum not being a straight line, but more like a horse shoe. That is, the more extreme people become on the left and right, the more alike - or close together - they are.
https://davidrozado.substack.com/p/iftdpe
This was a very good read and fascinating. Worrying too! I would think NZ would be similar at some points, but seeing we don't have the breadth of media I can't help feel (as only anecdotal evidence!) our results would be more pronounced.
Very well expressed and in need of thoughtful consideration, particularly by reporters who have lost their moral plumbline separating truth from lies and are attempting to replace it with baseless verbal assertions.
That would be because the Establishment (aka the Power-that-be) is now the left and what was the Far Left is now the Left (point in case our proud socialist comrade Keiran McAnulty). Note I say the Establishment, not the Majority - one day (I don’t know when) the forces of (human) nature will rectify.
I think history often swings like a pendulum. Those once benefiting from the likes of free speech, a somewhat objective media are now happy to pull up the ladder so to speak. We should both push back against this but also learn so as not to repeat their failures when things do rectify/swing back.
I consider these woke progressives as being ultra-conservatives, and ultra fearful of anything that threatens their narrative. That is why they whine about micro-aggressions, while screaming like banshees at any perceived injustice. That is why we just have to ignore them till they fade away like snowflakes do. Darwin would have called them losers in the competition of life. They are over-represented in the Media, and in Labour and Greens supporters, and needed to be voted out.