File spoon-archives/marxism-thaxis.archive/marxism-thaxis_1997/marxism-thaxis.9710, message 300


Subject: Re: M-TH:NZ 
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 97 13:19:35 -0000
From: Bill Cochrane <wrc1961-AT-midland.co.nz>


Bob, 
NZ's welfare state was based largely on the ability of our farming sector 
to generate sufficent overseas exchange to meet the rising consumption 
expectations of the populace. 
Our manufacturing sector was highly protected,internationally 
uncompetitive with below average productivity growth, but along with the 
state soaked up unemployment and contributed to an increasingly 
egalitarian distribution of income.(wealth is a moot point as no really 
good data exists on wealth distribution here).
While wage fixing was conducted within a centralized judicalframework no 
explicit relationship existed between productivity growth and wage 
growth, basically the wage sufficent to keep a labourer and his wife and 
kids was determined and then a complex system of 'relativities' was used 
to determine the wages of other occupations.
The wheels dropped off this little wagon for a number of reasons,
- agriculture was unable to continue its central role due to the demise 
of traditional markets, falling commodity prices ( a secular trend over 
the last 100 years or so) and a falling rate of productivity growth ( ie 
the rate of growth of productivity was not sufficent to compensate for 
the falling unit commodity prices).
- Low levels of unemployment and a strong institutional position allowed 
uniuons to pursue high wage demands despite indifferent productivity 
growth and a weakening economy.This obviously began to seriously impact 
on the profitability of capital.
- exogenous conditions deteriorated markedly, ie the western capitalist 
economies all hit the wall in the early seventies as well, pretty much 
the straw that broke the camels back for NZ.
To restore capitalist profitability the state embarked on a program to,
- restore labour market discipline through reducing the institutional 
power of unions.
- reduce aggregate demand and increase labour market discipline through 
allowing unemployment to rise.
- recommodify state activities, increase the size of the capitalist 
sector and hence the scope for profit. 
- promote productivity growth and reduce dependence on agriculture 
through removing trade barriors- the idea being that by exposing NZ 
manufacturing to international competition our manufacturing sector would 
be forced to inovate and compete. Unfortunately manufacturing collapsed 
almost utterly with perversely agriculture being one of the few sectors 
to respond as planned.
You get the picture - reduce the real wage, increase the intensity of 
labour, expand the scope of capitalist competition etc.
What did people such as the unions do about this, fuck nothing by enlarge.
The unions continued their support of labour through out its 
restructuring program largely on the grounds that national would be worse 
and if the truth be known because labour continued to protect the 
institutional structures that allowed a large number of unions to 
exist.It also handed out the odd knighthood pretended to take them 
seriously most of the time and even made the occasional cursory gesture 
in the direction of the CTU's (council of trade unions) adled and bizzare 
plans.
There is no organised opposition at a national level to continuing 
restructuring, though increasingly small bands of people are rallying in 
defence of some local service that is being striped away, the CTU is an 
ineffectual joke lead by a buffoon and run by a coterie of people who 
think slogans such as"workplace reform" and "a new spirit of cooperation 
with capital" are a substitute for analysis and action. 
More latter as my ride is here and I'm off to the pub.


Bill Cochrane
4 King St 
Ngaruawahia
New Zealand

Ph (07)8247722



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