Majoritarianism is not Democracy: The NZ Political Right have mistaken anger at Labour as a mandate for culture war vengeance

2023 wasn’t an election, it was a  grudge fuck against Labour by an embittered post Covid electorate who were economically insecure, alienated by woke dogma and heart broken that all Labour could do with a once in a generation MMP majority was ‘good first steps’ rather than transformational leaps.

It has resulted in a Hard Right Racist Government bound together only by a shared glee in bashing beneficiaries, workers, renters, prisoners, the environment, gang members, drug addicts and the disabled.

They all have a particular dislike for Māori and have used attempts at co-governance to fulfil the promise of the Treaty (which is our collective obligation) as a weapon with which to cement into place 19th Century White Settler Privilege and call that ‘democracy’.

As Verity Johnson so scathingly observes in her must read column, there is no Honeymoon here, just regret from voters…

Verity Johnson: This isn’t the honeymoon period, it’s the morning after

There’s been a lot said this week about the political honeymoon period with the Government. Namely, where the hell has it gone?

After all, this is supposed to be the french toast and art galleries period of our political relationship with Luxon & co. And yet there is a distinct lack of romance in the air right now.

In fact, I’d say this feels more like 14 years into a relationship. The point where you see your spouse eat mayonnaise straight from the jar while wearing a brown, stained towelling robe that makes them look like a recently shot deer – and realise that you can’t afford a divorce.

Now, many people have been blamed for spoiling the Government’s honeymoon. Mostly Winnie. But also David Seymour because, well, because it’s those two. But let’s be real here.

There was never going to be a honeymoon period.

Because we’re not in love with this government. Like I said the other week, Christopher Luxon is the rebound boyfriend who we’ve married because our ex broke our heart. So there was never going to be a morning-sex-in-the Seychelles period anyway. This was the kind of marriage where you wake up the next day in Vegas, and the crushing enormity of what you’ve done squats onto your chest like an FBI agent bursting in the door to arrest you for gross stupidity…..

So no, there was never going to be a honeymoon. Just the morning after.

Because let’s face it, that’s how most of us feel: dazed, disorientated and damply disappointed.

No one’s particularly happy with the new bunch, whether you’re left, right, centre, everyone seems to feel generally dissatisfied. In fact, in the everyday world, not the political or media world, you could best sum up everyone’s mood right now with, WTF just happened?

…Verity is right, no one wanted this right wing vomit as social policy, they were angry at Labour for their fecklessness!

The NZ Political Right have mistaken anger at Labour as a mandate for culture war vengeance and they have conflated Majoritarianism as Democracy!

In a modern liberal democracy, you acknowledge the power imbalance created in society and you resource to ensure those power imbalances are compensated for!

In a liberal progressive democracy, it doesn’t matter what role you play in the complex super structure of our society and economy.

It doesn’t matter of you are a garbage collector, a dr, a nurse, a drain layer, teacher or tradie – if you all stopped doing your jobs the system can’t work.

Everyone deserves to share the collective harvest of civil society with public services and policies focused on the public good enshrined in the intrinsic civil liberties each individual has.

Wealthy individuals who become mega rich thanks to the landscape generated by those values are required to pay more back into the system they have benefited from beyond the bare necessity of ruthless accountancy practices.

The Political Right are screaming that imposing Qanon talking points as social policy, destroying workers rights, Tobacco deaths for tax cuts and taking $555million from the poorest families are all acceptable because they have the Majority so fuck everyone else!

That’s why on the first day of the Government there were nationwide protests. That’s why in the first week of the new Government global headlines were attacking our u-turn on gas and oil exploration and smoking policy.

Dismantling the values of a liberal progressive democracy to cement into place 19th Century White Settler privilege using culture war vengeance as social policy IS NOT Democratic, it’s majoritarianism without any of the values of a true Democracy.

You can’t shit on Renters, Māori, the Environment, Workers, Beneficiaries and Prisoners while pretending to be democratic.

That’s the zeal of the Lynch mob, that’s not Democracy!

Majoritarianism is the whip of the autocrat masquerading as legitimacy. Is has none of the soul or wisdom that a Democracy requires to be meaningful.

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