Resolving these daunting policy problems is difficult enough. But there is a deeper, more fundamental challenge confronting the nation. It is one of ambition and identity.
A creeping cultural malaise has dampened New Zealand's aspiration to aim high and fulfil its potential as a truly prosperous, dynamic society.
Instead, an insidious complacency has taken hold – the unspoken assumption that New Zealand is too small and too isolated to compete robustly on the world stage beyond a few commodities and tourism niches. That relative decline is inevitable and acceptable, so long as a veneer of comfort remains.
But it is not just complacency sapping our ambition. Increasingly, we are becoming an inward-looking, divided people, expending excessive energy on zero-sum battles over slicing up our existing national pie. The political zeitgeist of grievance and identity trumps any unifying goal of expanding opportunity and prosperity for all.
Even when we do try to lift our gaze, our goals betray our horizons. An example is the previous National-led Coalition Government’s 2025 Taskforce. Its remit was to provide strategies to close the income gaps with Australia. Worthy enough. But why not aim to be the world’s most prosperous small, advanced nation?
Researcher Tony Smale has argued that a cultural psyche – an inclination to "satisfice" with modest living standards – directly impedes New Zealand from realising the economic benefits of its innovative potential.
Even among entrepreneurs, the iconic Kiwi dream is a ‘boat, bach and BMW’. But it pales against the ambitions propelling entrepreneurial talents in other small economies like Singapore, Denmark or Ireland to build innovative global enterprises. Sure, there are exceptions – like Rocket Lab’s Peter Beck and Zuru’s Nick Mowbray. But their exceptionalism only underscores the rarity of such world-beating business ambition.
In his 2008 report, The Influence of National Culture on New Zealand’s Innovation Outcomes, Smale provides an empirical case study of how ingrained cultural traits and narratives shape a nation's economic trajectory. He links New Zealand's specific cultural barriers – the 'tall poppy syndrome', short-termism, anti-materialism – directly to our struggle to convert creativity into sustained growth.
Such constrained thinking belies the ethos of those who built the outward-looking, world-leading society we inherited. It defies the daring that once had us overcoming the tyranny of distance through outsized feats of exploration, enterprise and public policy reform.
The costs of this poverty of ambition stretch far beyond lost incomes. It starves us of revenue to afford first-world social services, infrastructure, and educational institutions. It deters global talent from bringing their human capital here. Ultimately, it resigns us to a peripheral future as the world's most isolated also-ran.
Cultural drags of complacency, lack of global vision and internal division also combine to sap the collective political will to make hard policy choices. Without a galvanizing narrative of national purpose, reforms to boost productivity and competitiveness stall. Stagnation becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The new Government has an opportunity to rekindle faith in our ability to achieve audacious goals through daring and perseverance. And not just in the sporting arena. But in technology, science, the arts and, most of all, business. After all, it is business on which we all rely to grow the national pie.
Restoring an ambitious enterprising spirit is a generational undertaking. We must foster a culture of lofty individual and national ambition, with supportive economic policies to match. We must define ourselves by our eagerness to make a positive, prosperous impact on the world, not our readiness to settle for a fading share of it. We must recast our unique geography as a platform for defiant achievement, not an excuse for timid fatalism.
Instead, an insidious complacency has taken hold – the unspoken assumption that New Zealand is too small and too isolated to compete robustly on the world stage beyond a few commodities and tourism niches. That relative decline is inevitable and acceptable, so long as a veneer of comfort remains.
But it is not just complacency sapping our ambition. Increasingly, we are becoming an inward-looking, divided people, expending excessive energy on zero-sum battles over slicing up our existing national pie. The political zeitgeist of grievance and identity trumps any unifying goal of expanding opportunity and prosperity for all.
Even when we do try to lift our gaze, our goals betray our horizons. An example is the previous National-led Coalition Government’s 2025 Taskforce. Its remit was to provide strategies to close the income gaps with Australia. Worthy enough. But why not aim to be the world’s most prosperous small, advanced nation?
Researcher Tony Smale has argued that a cultural psyche – an inclination to "satisfice" with modest living standards – directly impedes New Zealand from realising the economic benefits of its innovative potential.
Even among entrepreneurs, the iconic Kiwi dream is a ‘boat, bach and BMW’. But it pales against the ambitions propelling entrepreneurial talents in other small economies like Singapore, Denmark or Ireland to build innovative global enterprises. Sure, there are exceptions – like Rocket Lab’s Peter Beck and Zuru’s Nick Mowbray. But their exceptionalism only underscores the rarity of such world-beating business ambition.
In his 2008 report, The Influence of National Culture on New Zealand’s Innovation Outcomes, Smale provides an empirical case study of how ingrained cultural traits and narratives shape a nation's economic trajectory. He links New Zealand's specific cultural barriers – the 'tall poppy syndrome', short-termism, anti-materialism – directly to our struggle to convert creativity into sustained growth.
Such constrained thinking belies the ethos of those who built the outward-looking, world-leading society we inherited. It defies the daring that once had us overcoming the tyranny of distance through outsized feats of exploration, enterprise and public policy reform.
The costs of this poverty of ambition stretch far beyond lost incomes. It starves us of revenue to afford first-world social services, infrastructure, and educational institutions. It deters global talent from bringing their human capital here. Ultimately, it resigns us to a peripheral future as the world's most isolated also-ran.
Cultural drags of complacency, lack of global vision and internal division also combine to sap the collective political will to make hard policy choices. Without a galvanizing narrative of national purpose, reforms to boost productivity and competitiveness stall. Stagnation becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The new Government has an opportunity to rekindle faith in our ability to achieve audacious goals through daring and perseverance. And not just in the sporting arena. But in technology, science, the arts and, most of all, business. After all, it is business on which we all rely to grow the national pie.
Restoring an ambitious enterprising spirit is a generational undertaking. We must foster a culture of lofty individual and national ambition, with supportive economic policies to match. We must define ourselves by our eagerness to make a positive, prosperous impact on the world, not our readiness to settle for a fading share of it. We must recast our unique geography as a platform for defiant achievement, not an excuse for timid fatalism.
The task is not the Government’s alone. We need brave leadership from all quarters to replace the psychology of managed decline.
There will be pushback from the merchants of miserabilism grown used to mediocrity.
Naysayers will also decry the pursuit of excellence as elitist and divisive, betraying ‘egalitarian’ Kiwi values. They will define national character by division and past wrongs, not shared hopes. In their telling, striving to achieve merely widens the gaps between us.
But such divisive rhetoric risks unravelling the social fabric and sense of common purpose vital for inclusive progress. Its very emphasis on difference threatens to make inequality a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Rationalisations of New Zealand’s decline also slight New Zealand’s past success. And the outsized achievement of those Kiwis who have excelled on the global stage from the bottom of the world.
Effecting this cultural renaissance is a daunting mission. Yet our prospects for a first-world future rest upon it. Because underlying the pressing challenges in housing, health, education, and prosperity is this even deeper crisis of imagination, ambition and national solidarity.
As economist and Nobel laureate Douglass North argued, long-term prosperity requires more than smart policies. It demands reshaping the cultural narratives and norms underpinning how a society sees itself and its place in the world.
New Zealand stands at a crossroads. One path leads to a diminished destiny on the margins of progress. The other to reclaiming our historic standing as an indomitable small nation boldly shaping a prosperous, globally engaged future.
The choice is ours. But it requires the courage to confront hard truths and the resolve to make hard choices. Above all, it requires the ambition to imagine our small country’s full potential – so that every Kiwi has the opportunity to apply their unique gifts and live out their dreams.
Roger Partridge is chairman and a co-founder of The New Zealand Initiative and is a senior member of its research team. He led law firm Bell Gully as executive chairman from 2007 to 2014. This article was first published HERE
Naysayers will also decry the pursuit of excellence as elitist and divisive, betraying ‘egalitarian’ Kiwi values. They will define national character by division and past wrongs, not shared hopes. In their telling, striving to achieve merely widens the gaps between us.
But such divisive rhetoric risks unravelling the social fabric and sense of common purpose vital for inclusive progress. Its very emphasis on difference threatens to make inequality a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Rationalisations of New Zealand’s decline also slight New Zealand’s past success. And the outsized achievement of those Kiwis who have excelled on the global stage from the bottom of the world.
Effecting this cultural renaissance is a daunting mission. Yet our prospects for a first-world future rest upon it. Because underlying the pressing challenges in housing, health, education, and prosperity is this even deeper crisis of imagination, ambition and national solidarity.
As economist and Nobel laureate Douglass North argued, long-term prosperity requires more than smart policies. It demands reshaping the cultural narratives and norms underpinning how a society sees itself and its place in the world.
New Zealand stands at a crossroads. One path leads to a diminished destiny on the margins of progress. The other to reclaiming our historic standing as an indomitable small nation boldly shaping a prosperous, globally engaged future.
The choice is ours. But it requires the courage to confront hard truths and the resolve to make hard choices. Above all, it requires the ambition to imagine our small country’s full potential – so that every Kiwi has the opportunity to apply their unique gifts and live out their dreams.
Roger Partridge is chairman and a co-founder of The New Zealand Initiative and is a senior member of its research team. He led law firm Bell Gully as executive chairman from 2007 to 2014. This article was first published HERE
9 comments:
The problem is not a lack of ambition. The problem is cultural marxism and a loss of Christian identity to oppose it. Because it is Christianity that made this country great and it is Christianity that has been overthrown over the past 3 generations to make place for the non-identity that we have now. A return to Christ and his law of love is the only way to turn this around. Without him we can do nothing truly good and lasting.
Great article.
Cindy Ardern was the most transformational Prime Minister in New Zealand’s history.
Fresh from her Presidency of the International Union of Socialist Youth (a front organization for communists), she launched a cultural revolution in “Aotearoa”.
Although Ms Ardern was somewhat mentally defective, her communicative approach of chanting slogans with peculiar punctuation and cadence was very popular. She became a manipulator of crowds. Degeneracy was imposed top down on the people on a mass scale.
Ardern’s kind brand of neo-Marxism promised an equality of mediocrity, vapidity, and indolence for all. She delivered all this and more in stunning fashion.
Four Cults of the Apocalypse (Covid, Climate, Treaty, Trans) were pumped by the legacy media to the masses every day. All the institutions in the country were stacked with neo-Marxist acolytes. Even National, in theory the main opposition party, have since adopted most of her far-left policies as their own.
Cindy Ardern became the most popular Prime Minister in our history – at least for a time. Now, Ms. Ardern has moved on to greener pastures, but the culture and institutions she built in “Aotearoa” in her gurning image remain.
Mr Luxon (and Willis / Stanford et al) show little interest in changing any of it. Why not? Perhaps they lack the courage? Or maybe they simply don’t understand what has happened?
Unless the National Party can be persuaded to change course, I fear we could be doomed. Our levels of private debt are already terrifying, and public debt is growing exponentially as well.
We need more courage from our politicians.
Brilliant analysis.
Where would Maorification sit in this future vision of the country ?
As an important part of the picture or as the predominant force ?
A delicate question and carefully sidestepped.
All power to you to spread the word. Love the words “miserablism”. poverty of ambition and “timid fatalism”
Most of all we need inspiring leadership. Someone with a proven track record who can inspire the right people. Perhaps we could have an independently elected PM. Candidares could be presented warts and all. Then we could choose our leader instead of getting the Party choice.
MC
Anon @ 9.23am, well summarized. Couldn't agree more. This is a stuffed country. I'm unsure if my standing up to the woke racist toxic left tosspots is the last deaththroes of what was once a great place to live or the start of bringing a bit of normality back to the destruction of the last 6 years. This could go either way.....
IMO social media, YouTube, Netflix, online games have played a huge role in demotivating and polarising the public. Why do stuff when there are so many rewards online?
In other words, technology changed first and hacked our dopamine systems - then came the changes in attitudes and productivity.
Great opinion piece Roger. Small countries that do well often face strong and visible existential threats - think Finland, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Israel. We need less internal focus on culture wars, Te Tiriti and more external focus on trade performance and technological performance.
Opportunities may come from the Science System and the University system reviews both chaired by Peter Gluckman. I think we should be more actively using procurement policy to grow knowledge-intensive export firms. This can include dual-purpose technologies with civil and military applications such as UAVs.
Hope you can spark a serious debate about such issues.
No wonder progress is so slow in our country. For as long as I can remember
NZ has been at one crossroad or another. Why can we not follow a pathway, roadway or even an expressway to take us somewhere. This succession of metaphorical crossroads seems to be slowing us up.
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