Dainties and Chains: Progressive MPs and the “Wellington Bubble”

ByThe Daily Blog

EVEN IF WINSTON VEERS LEFT, the progressive New Zealand community still has a problem. Their new political representatives: the people upon whom so many progressive voters have pinned their hopes for meaningful change; will soon discover that the speed at which they, themselves, are being transformed is far outstripping any changes in the wider world. Indeed, it will not be long before their elevated status leads them to begin questioning the wisdom of the many economic and social changes they are expected to make.

Even the lowliest Labour or Green backbench MP, on a salary of at least $160,000, now finds themselves among the top 5 percent of income-earners. It will require considerable willpower on their part to resist the lifestyle choices made possible by such a generous income. An even greater effort will be needed to prevent the blandishments of their fellow movers-and-shakers (who will be drawn to them like bees to honey) from turning their heads. As fully-paid-up members of the New Zealand political class, they will be expected to play by its rules. The most important of these: “Insiders do not talk to Outsiders!”, is intended to render meaningful economic and social change all-but-impossible.

It will only take a few weeks for these MPs to pass over from the world inhabited by their friends and constituents, into the “Wellington Bubble”. Once inside, they will find it very difficult to leave. Only when they are inside the bubble will the true character of events be revealed to them – nothing of which may be communicated to those living outside. They will soon come to accept that the power to solve problems is only ever made available to those who understand the importance of working inside the bubble. Trying to effect change from the outside will only bring home to them how powerless outsiders truly are.

These lessons will force our newly-minted progressive MPs to make some hard choices among their friends and comrades. They will have to decide who has what it takes to become an Insider, and who will forever be counted among the outsiders.

Once inducted into the rules of “Insiderdom’, these people will become the MP’s most trusted advisers and helpers. Regardless of what office they hold (if any) within the wider party, these will be the ones who, working alongside the MP, are permitted to wield the real power. Perhaps their most important role is to supply outsiders with explanations and excuses for why so many of the party’s promises for real and meaningful change cannot – at this time – be fulfilled.

As a means of protecting the world of the Insiders, this current arrangement is vastly more sophisticated than those of the past. Summer warmth is always more likely to encourage a relaxation of vigilance than the icy blasts of winter.

When the Labour Party was in its infancy, back in the 1920s and 30s, the salary paid to ordinary MPs was derisory – less than the wage of a skilled tradesman. Traditionally, the role of legislator was deemed one for which only “gentlemen” were socially, professionally and financially equipped. The rough-hewn working-men and women who entered the hallowed halls of Parliament were, therefore, met by a veritable force-field of class prejudice and scorn. Labour was the party of Outsiders – and the Insiders weren’t the least bit shy about letting Labour’s MPs know it.

While this state of affairs undoubtedly gave the enemies of progressivism considerable satisfaction, it was, politically-speaking, dangerously counter-productive. In terms of their lifestyle, working-class Labour MPs remained largely indistinguishable from their constituents. The complex apparatus erected around present-day electorate MPs by Parliamentary Services, was non-existent. When people came to a Labour MP seeking assistance, they were met more often than not by their spouse, who acted as the MP’s unpaid electorate secretary. There are countless stories about Labour MPs – especially during the Great Depression – reaching into their own, near-empty, pockets to prevent their constituents from going hungry. These were gestures that bred a party loyalty strong enough to bridge generations of voters. As Outsiders living among outsiders, the fires of progressive fervour that distinguished Labour’s team of parliamentarians were never in any danger of going out. No bubbles of wealth and privilege surrounded them to shut out the cries of the angry poor who were Labour’s nation.

In the words of Aesop’s fable – The House Dog And The Wolf 

THE MOON WAS SHINING very bright one night when a lean, half-starved wolf, whose ribs were almost sticking through his skin, chanced to meet a plump, well-fed house dog. After the first compliments had been passed between them, the wolf inquired:

“How is it cousin dog, that you look so sleek and contented? Try as I may I can barely find enough food to keep me from starvation.”

“Alas, cousin wolf,” said the house dog, “you lead too irregular a life. Why do you not work steadily as I do?” 

“I would gladly work steadily if I could only get a place,” said the wolf.

“That’s easy,” replied the dog. “Come with me to my master’s house and help me keep the thieves away at night.”

“Gladly,” said the wolf, “for as I am living in the woods I am having a sorry time of it. There is nothing like having a roof over one’s head and a bellyful of victuals always at hand.”

“Follow me,” said the dog.

While they were trotting along together the wolf spied a mark on the dog’s neck. Out of curiosity he could not forbear asking what had caused it.

 “Oh, that’s nothing much,” replied the dog. “perhaps my collar was a little tight, the collar to which my chain is fastened – ”

“Chain!” cried the wolf in surprise. “You don’t mean to tell me that you are not free to rove where you please?”

“Why, not exactly,” said the dog, somewhat shamefacedly. “You see, my master thinks I am a bit fierce, and ties me up in the daytime. But he lets me run free at night. It really is very convenient for everybody. I get plenty of sleep during the day so that I can watch better at night. I really am a great favourite at the house. The master feeds me off his own plate, and the servants are continually offering me handouts from the kitchen. But wait, where are you going?”

As the wolf started back towards the forest he said:

“Good night to you, my poor friend, you are welcome to your dainties – and your chains. As for me, I prefer lean freedom to fat slavery.”

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19 Comments

  1. As the wolf started back towards the forest he said:

    “Good night to you, my poor friend, you are welcome to your dainties – and your chains. As for me, I prefer lean freedom to fat slavery.”

    Nicely said , Aesop and Mr Trotter.

  2. Ah grassoppas , Public service or private gain ?

    I believe in the 70″s an Mp,s salary was around the same as a teachers .Whats gone wrong ?

    If I were PM , the more senior the political position the less you would be paid .

    If you really have the will and skill to advance the lives of all citizens then you do so in the name of public service . To enhance the well -being of thousands of people is its own reward .

    At the end of this service , the state would provide a modest recognition of that contribution , a house , food ,and health care for life.

    This then is the lean free wolf .

    The Person/MP/Activist who selflessly works for genuine improvement for all citizens not their own material gain or personal glorification .

    We have too many fat dogs on a chain.

    Lets remove the financial incentive to politics and see how many remain to help others ,and sort the wheat from the chaff.

    I met a religious man on a plane from Perth to Brisbane in 2009 .Over his lifetime he had educated tens of thousands of people in Northern India , had created hundreds of schools and lifted thousands of families from poverty .He was in his 80″s but full of wisdom,humor and life .

    He had no possessions or assets , the church took care of his basic needs and he was truly adored as an outstanding human being by all those whom he had helped .He asked for no great salary ,he never invoiced or charged anyone for his services for over 6 decades.He showed me his wallet with $ 50 in it .And he was as genuinely content .

    I learned that day , you don’t have to be wealthy to be rich .

    To this day , the man on the plane with no money was the richest man I have ever met .And it deeply moved me .

    Upon return home I Googled this humble gifted man . It transpires he had been the chief spiritual adviser to Mother Teresa of Calcutta for over 25 years .

    Be it in the service of God or in the service of your Community/ Region or Country , public service should be exactly that.

    Having the intelligence ,energy and passion to help others make more of their lives provides a spiritual reward far greater than any parliamentary salary or personal material gain .

    Doing it for nothing , actually feels better.There is no moral confusion .You will gain the respect of those you help and though this selfless act of kindness you will forever , always be rich.

  4. “As fully-paid-up members of the New Zealand political class, they will be expected to play by its rules. The most important of these: “Insiders do not talk to Outsiders!”, is intended to render meaningful economic and social change all-but-impossible.”

    Is this not also the problem that hit the Greens, once they chose to primarily go for the parliamentary way of trying to bring change?

    That is why action is needed, outside of Parliament, road and street based action, internet based action, social media action, and more.

    We need a strong opposition movement outside of Parliament, but in NZ Inc, it does not exist, it is hard to find at least.

    Without that, the ones that were the advocates become the compromised servants of the state, of the establishment, and thus powerless, ineffective, and hypocritical.

    All idealism vanishes, all else drowns in the dreadful, bureaucratic, ritual and rules based processes of government and in Parliament.

    That is why I dare say, change will be miniscule, rather cosmetic, those that think otherwise are misguided dreamers.

  9. Don’t address climate change and all other matters are merely academic.

    It may already be too late, in which case borrow and spend like there’s no tomorrow.

  11. For these reasons and others, I am all for progressive groups remaining outside of parliament, focusing on getting public engaged and informed, and catylising cultural shifts.

    Unfortunately there are many challenges – in gaining and maintaining engagement in volunteer organisations; in finding common ground to agree upon how and what actions to take; in branding and marketing.

    When people are free to participate, they’re also free to walk away – which is as it should be – but this leads to struggles for power: “It should be done my way”, “It should be more like this”, “It’s not really what I want”… which are hard problems to solve – since everyone thinks they know best, and no one fully understands the experience of the other. Egotism is a problem for everyone.

    I do hope the Greens manage to stick well to progressive principles.

  12. The purpose of changing the government is not to get them to fix everything for us. They can’t. The purpose is to replace the acceleration of hypercapitalism with a brake. Then we can all take a deep breath, and get on with the work of fixing things together, without constantly having a boot on our neck.

  13. MPs are paid well to make them impervious to bribery and corruption.

    How ironic if it turns out that their generous salary IS the bribery and effective corruption the inevitable consequence.

  14. The big problem is that the driver of International Trade, and an up-tick in World wealth, Globalization, is also a lock which bars so many from aspiration to a better life, as “rationality” inevitably narrows the range of opportunities in the productive economy, and accelerates the imbalance between rich and poor.

    It is the same phenomenon, in some ways, as we see with the headlong rush towards robotisation. This damages employment and public order. But it is must improve the bottom lines for the already wealthy, while protecting them from others who may compete by using the same personnel reduction.

    By reiterating the “inevitability” of the changes, and wedding them to some putative appeal to Futurism, all natural worker opposition is muted and characterized as antediluvian.

    Another path must be found that protects workers, while retaining the advantages of international trade. It seems to me that multi-lateral trade arrangements inevitably trade off, on aggregate, the interests of the weakest States, while protecting those of those more important to the accord.

    Bilateral arrangements, on the other hand, can focus on the core interests of both. TPP is the quintessential Multi-lateral deal, and New Zealand the quintessential “Weakest Link”.

    No surprise we got screwed.

    But if we had a bespoke version of the deal with each party, we could get the gains with those ready to give them, in spite of the opposition from those who are not.

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