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Socialism in New Zealand had little traction in earlycolonial New Zealand but developed as apolitical movement around the beginning of the 20th century. Much ofsocialism's early growth was found in thelabour movement.
The extent to which socialism plays a part in modernNew Zealand politics depends on which definitions of socialist are used, but few mainstream politicians would describe themselves using the word "socialist". The term "social-democrat" is more common, but the general "left-wing" or "centre-left" are used far more frequently. New Zealand has a complicated assortment of socialist causes and organisations. Some of these play a considerable role in publicactivism, such as theanti-war movement; other groups are strongly committed tosocialist revolution.
Several prominentpolitical parties in New Zealand, such as theNew Zealand Labour Party, have historical links to socialism but are not generally considered socialist today due to their acceptance of acapitalist economy.[1] More likely to receive this label are the smallMarxist organisations that exist outside the political mainstream, such asOrganise Aotearoa, theInternational Socialist Organisation,Socialist Aotearoa.[2]
AcademicJosephine F. Milburn argues that socialist theories were introduced by immigrant workers with experience in the British labour movement. Their ideas were not widely accepted, however. TheLiberal Government of New Zealand that was dominant 1891–1912 rejected socialism but it supported unions, and the government built the foundations of thecountry's welfare state in the 1890s and fought the large landholders.[3] Milburn argues that governmental activism cannot be attributed to the influence of the small socialist movement.[4]
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Ideological socialism, when it arrived, mostly stemmed from Britain or other British colonies. Much of socialism's early growth was found in the labour movement, and often coincided with the growth oftrade unions. During the 1870s, James McPherson and his Canterbury Working Men's Mutual Protection Society had written toKarl Marx, requesting affiliation with theFirst International.[5][verification needed] TheNew Zealand Federation of Labour (also known as the "Red Federation") was influenced by socialist theories, as were many other labour organizations. The Red Federation was formed in 1909 when a federation of the mining unions invited other unions to join a New Zealand Federation of Labour. The Red Federation's official organ was theMaoriland Worker, which advocated militant unionism and socialism. Key Red Federation leaders included theAustralian–born Hickey andPaddy Webb, and fellow AustralianBob Semple. In opposition to the Red Federation, mainstream trade and labour councils formed a rivalFederation of Labour.[6]
The arrival of 200 British socialists called the "Clarion Settlers" led to the formation of theNew Zealand Socialist Party in 1901, which promoted the works of Marx andFriedrich Engels.[5] Strongly influenced by the BritishIndependent Labour Party, the Socialist Party advocated promoting socialism through education and agitation rather than elections. The group met with little tangible success, but it nevertheless had considerable impact on the development of New Zealand socialism, forging close ties with the "Red Federation."[7] In particular,Edward Hunter (sometimes known under the pen name "Billy Banjo", and a member of both the Socialist Party and the Red Federation), was a major figure in the spread of socialist ideas to the unions.[8][9]
In the years leading up to theFirst World War, several New Zealand and Australian socialists includingHarry Holland,Michael Joseph Savage,Peter Fraser,Harry Scott Bennett,Tom Barker,Tom Bloodworth, andBob Semple advocated the creation of a "Cooperative Commonwealth" in which all land and means of wealth production, distribution, and management would be owned and managed collectively by the people. Besides Marx and Engels, these antipodean socialists were influenced by various radical European and American writers includingHenry George,Edward Bellamy,Georges Sorel,August Bebel,Eugene Debs,Bill Haywood, andIrving Fisher. In 1912, a Petone Marxian Club was formed and met every Monday. This was one of the forerunners to theNew Zealand Marxian Association.[5]
The growth of unionism eventually led to the establishment of a number of socialist-influenced parties. Originally, the working class vote was concentrated mainly with theLiberal Party, where a number of prominent left-wing politicians (such asFrederick Pirani) emerged. Later, however, there were increasing calls for an independent workers' party, particularly as the Liberals began to lose their reformist drive.[10][11]
The second organised party to gain a seat in Parliament (after the Liberal Party) was the smallIndependent Political Labour League, which won an urban electorate inWellington in the1908 election. Later, in 1910, the IPLL was reformed as theLabour Party (not to be confused with the modern party).[12]
| Socialist Party (1901) | Independent Political Labour League (1905) | ||||||||||||||||
| (independents) | Labour Party (original) (1910) | ||||||||||||||||
| United Labour Party (1912) | |||||||||||||||||
| Social Democratic Party (1913) | (remnants) | ||||||||||||||||
| Labour Party (1916) | |||||||||||||||||
The growing drive for unity among left-wing groups resulted in a "Unity Conference" being called in 1912. This conference aimed to merge the various left-wing parties in New Zealand, including both the moderate Labour Party and the hardline Socialist Party. The Socialist Party, however, refused to attend the conference, and the newUnited Labour Party consisted only of the Labour Party and a number of independent campaigners.[13]
PremierWilliam Massey's "heavy-handed" suppression of theWaihi miners' strike prompted another attempt at unity in 1913. This time, the Socialists were willing to attend. A new group, theSocial Democratic Party, was formed, merging the United Labour Party and the Socialist Party. A faction of the United Labour Party refused to accept the decision, however, and continued on under the same name. Later, a decision by the Social Democrats to support a strike of dockworkers and coal miners resulted in a number of Social Democratic leaders being arrested, leaving the party in disarray in the1914 election, the remnants of the United Labour Party actually won more seats than the "united" Social Democrats.[14]
Finally, in 1916, it was agreed that the Social Democrats and the United Labour Party remnants would all be amalgamated into a single group, theNew Zealand Labour Party. The new Labour Party was explicitly socialist, and was based around goals ofredistribution of wealth, nationalization of industry, and elimination of conscription.[15][16] Eventual Labour Party leader,Harry Holland, was strongly socialist in his beliefs, having been associated with the Socialist Party and with the striking miners in Waihi. Holland believed that the militancy at Waihi was a sign of further impending class conflict. While the Labour Party gained some electoral success, it continued to trail theLiberal Party and theReform Party until the replacement of Holland withMichael Joseph Savage. Savage, although also involved in the earlier Socialist Party, was more moderate than Holland, and Labour gained considerable support. Assisted by theGreat Depression, Labour won a decisive victory in the1935 election.[17][18]
Despite its socialist roots, the Labour Party shifted towards a moresocial democratic orientation once in power. TheFirst Labour Government led by Savage and Peter Fraser implemented a range of socialist policies such as nationalising industry, broadcasting, transportation, and aKeynesian welfare state. However, the party did not seek to abolish capitalism, instead opting for amixed economy. Labour's welfare state and mixed economy were not challenged until the 1980s.[19][20]
Two years after the Labour Party lost the1949 election, the goal of implementing "the socialisation of the means of production, distribution, and exchange" was removed from the party's policy platform. This is sometimes seen as the end of any real claim to full socialism by the Labour Party. However, the shift away from socialism had not come about without dispute. Labour Party politicianJohn A. Lee was harshly critical of the changes, and had eventually left to establish theDemocratic Labour Party in 1940. The party was considerably more socialist than Labour, but performed poorly. Many members eventually left the party, mostly due to Lee's perceived autocratic style.[21][22]
During the 1980s, theFourth Labour Government under Prime MinisterDavid Lange andFinance MinisterRoger Douglas implemented severalneoliberal economic reforms known asRogernomics which transitioned New Zealand's Keynesian economy towards a more free market model. Labour's abandonment of its traditional values fractured the party, leading disaffected members to joinJim Anderton'sNewLabour Party,Greens,New Zealand Democratic Party for Social Credit, and theMana Motuhake parties under theAlliance. Successive Labour governments have promoted centre-left social and economic policies while preserving a free market economy.[23][24] The former Prime MinisterJacinda Ardern identifies as a social democrat and formerly served as President of theInternational Union of Socialist Youth.[25][26]
Even before Holland's replacement, and especially after Labour's 1949 policy change, many people had come to the conclusion that the Labour Party had moved too far away from its socialist roots. Only two years after Labour's foundation, theNew Zealand Marxian Association was established. The Marxian Association was inspired by theSocialist Party of Great Britain (SPGB) and focused on political action. It would later clash acrimoniously with Holland. The Marxian Association itself would fall prey to internal division in 1921. That year, a number of members who supported theRussian Revolution departed to form theCommunist Party of New Zealand (CPNZ). They were joined by two other revolutionary strands within the New Zealand Socialist Party: theDe Lonites who espoused revolutionary politics and industrial unionism; and theIndustrial Workers of the World (IWW)-syndicalist tradition who advocated direct action and spurned political activity.[27][28]
In 1930, however, former members of the Marxian Association (backed by members of theSocialist Party of Australia (WSM)) established theSocialist Party of New Zealand (distinct from the earlierNew Zealand Socialist Party). This group denied that the Labour Party (or even any of the parties before it, except for the Marxian Association) represented genuine socialism. The new Socialist Party still exists today, although has slightly modified its name, becoming theWorld Socialist Party).[29]
Meanwhile, the CPNZ built its support from miners in theSouth Island'sWest Coast andHuntly in theNorth Island'sWaikato district, and from seamen and waterside workers. The party faithfully followed the official position of the Soviet Union, modelling its aims, beliefs, manifesto and organisational structure and processes on those of theCommunist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). The Soviets also sought to guide international Communist parties through theThird International or Comintern.[30] In addition, the CPNZ also maintained close ties with theCommunist Party of Australia (CPA) and supportedMaori rights and theMau movement inWestern Samoa.[31][32]
During the 1920s, the CPNZ and the Communist front organisation NZ-USSR Society attempted to influence the New Zealand trade union movement, workers, intellectuals and the New Zealand Labour Party to promote support for the Soviet Union and socialist policies. These attempts were largely unsuccessful and the Labour Party adopted a policy excluding all members of the CPNZ and Communist front organisations. This set the stage for enmity and rivalry between communists andsocial democratic parties over control of the trade unions and unemployed workers' movements during theGreat Depression. Both communists and social democrats however did work together during the 1930s to combatfascism.[30]
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When theSino-Soviet split occurred in the 1960s, the CPNZ was sharply divided between supporters of the Soviet Union (led by the "revisionist"Nikita Khrushchev) and supporters of China (led by the radicalMao Zedong). Eventually, theMaoists led byVic Wilcox triumphed, and supporters of Khrushchev were expelled. Under Wilcox's leadership, the CPNZ was the only Western Communist party to side with China against the Soviets. The CPNZ's official mouthpiece was thePeople's Voice.[33]
The expelled members led byKen Douglas andGeorge Harold (Bill) Andersen eventually established theSocialist Unity Party (SUP). The SUP supported the CPSU and Soviet Union until the collapse of the USSR in 1991, defending theWarsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, the suppression of the1982 Solidarity demonstrations in Poland, and theSoviet–Afghan War. In return, Moscow funded frequent trips by SUP members to Russia, and Soviet ideologues and advisers regularly visited their SUP counterparts in New Zealand. The SUP's newspaper was calledNZ Tribune.[33] The Socialist Unity party eventually suffered its own split, with some members departing to found the modernSocialist Party of Aotearoa.[34][35]
In 1969, a group called the Socialist Action League (now theCommunist League) was established. The League emerged from student protests against theVietnam War and was influenced by the theories ofLeon Trotsky,Fidel Castro, andChe Guevera. The League took an interest in Communist movements inCuba,Nicaragua, and thePhilippines. Its newspaper was calledSocialist Action.[33] The League has proven to be one of the more durable parties and contested the2017 Mount Albert by-election.[36][37]Green Member of ParliamentKeith Locke was once involved in the Socialist Action League.[38]
After Mao's death, the CPNZ under the leadership of Richard Wolf and Harold Crook rejected the reforms introduced byDeng Xiaoping. Instead, they followedAlbania, which was led byEnver Hoxha'sParty of Labour of Albania. The leadership of the party believed that Hoxha was the only communist leader to keep "real" communism, but the group's determination to follow the narrowest path available alienated many of its supporters. The party gradually declined. Those CPNZ members who remained loyal to Beijing formed theWorkers' Communist League, whose newspaper was calledUnity.[33]
During theCold War, the CPNZ, SUP, Workers Communist League and the Socialist Action League tried to influence the Labour Party, trade unions, and a range of popular issues like theanti-Springbok tour protests, theMāori biculturalism, and theanti-nuclear movement.[39]
Following the collapse of Albanian communism, the CPNZ adopted theTrotskyism it had once harshly condemned, and merged with a newer group known as theInternational Socialist Organization. The resultant party was called theSocialist Workers Organization.[40] Later, however, many supporters of the International Socialist Organization withdrew from the new party, reestablishing their old group. As such, some see the Socialist Workers Organization (SWO) as a continuation of the old Communist Party. The SWO, known then as Socialist Worker, voted to dissolve itself in January 2012.[citation needed]
Other groups continue to promote socialism as well. In the2002 election, four candidates were put forward an umbrella group (known as theAnti-Capitalist Alliance) consisting of theWorkers Party of New Zealand, theRevolution group, and other left-wing activists. The International Socialist Organization is also active at some universities.[citation needed]
TheNew Left in New Zealand emerged during the 1950s and 1960s in response to the perceived "authoritarian, bureaucratic, and repressive norms" of New Zealand society and the so-called conservatism of the Communist Party, Labour, andNational parties. Eschewing the hierarchical structures of the "Old Left" political parties, the New Left developed informal groups that were non-sectarian, anti-bureaucratic, and decentralised. While the "Old Left" viewed the working class as the agent of revolutionary change, the New Left also saw revolutionary potential inThird World peasants, students, ethnic minorities and other marginalised groups. As with their New Left counterparts in Europe and North America, the New Left in New Zealand was largely young, white, male, middle-class, student-dominated, and incorporated a wide range of beliefs including thecounter-culture movement,Christian pacifism,anarchism, neo-Leninism, and libertarian forms ofMarxism. According to Boraman, the New Zealand New Left combined both the socialist orientation of the European New Left and the liberal orientation of its American counterpart.[41]
New Left groups championed several causes included opposition toracism, thenuclear arms race, and theVietnam War. Key New Left organisations in New Zealand were the anti-apartheidHalt All Racist Tours (HART), the Progressive Youth Movement (PYM), Socialist Forum, and the Resistance bookshops; which were organised locally. Unlike the Australian and American New Left groups, the Socialist Forum, PYM groups, and the Resistance bookshops were not university-based organisations but largely drew their support from working-class youth. The Wellington PYM consisted of a mixture of working-class youth and university students. Like the American New Left, the various PYM groups opposed the Vietnam War, racism, and Apartheid. While the New ZealandCampaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) was not a New Left organisation, several New Leftists including Graham Butterworth, Jim Delahunty, and Helmut Eionhorn of Wellington Socialist Forum also participated in the CND.[42]
During the 1960s and 1970s, the New Left reached its heyday. HART, the PYM, and Resistance bookshops were joined by other groups including theAuckland University Society for the Active Prevention of Cruelty to Politically Apathetic Humans (AUSAPOCHPAH), the Auckland-based Friends of Brutus, the New Left Club atMassey University, theVictoria University Socialist Club, the Anarchist Congress in Wellington, the Radical Student's Alliance at theUniversity of Canterbury, theChristchurch-based Anarchist Commune, theUniversity of Otago's Progressive Left Club, and theDunedin Anarchist Army.[38] The activist, scholar, andGreen Party Member of ParliamentSue Bradford was involved in the Auckland PYM and the Auckland Resistance bookshop.[43][44]
Following the election of theThird Labour Government in 1972, the new government delivered many of the New Left's demands including withdrawing New Zealand troops from Vietnam in 1972; endingcompulsory military training that same year; and terminating sporting contact with South Africa. As a result, the New Left lost much of its prominence due to the winding down of the protest movement. While New Leftists were still active in radical politics such as the Resistance bookshops, the more liberal wing of the protest movement had largely been appeased by the Third Labour Government's policies.[45]
During the early to mid 1970s, some New Left elements like the Christchurch PYM became influenced by theMaoist Communist Party. One New Left group that emerged in 1974 was Murray Horton andOwen Wilkes'Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa, which campaigned against foreign military bases and economic activity in New Zealand. According to Boraman, several New Leftists including former PYM members were also instrumental in founding several social movement organisations during the 1960s and 1970s includingTama Poata's Māori Organisation on Human Rights (MOOHR), theBlack Panthers–inspiredPolynesian Panthers, Therese O'Connell's Wellington Women's Liberation Front, the Auckland Women's Liberation Front, and the Auckland–based Women for Equality. Boraman has characterized opposition toAmerican imperialism and uncritical praise for Communist states and figures likeMao Zedong,Ho Chi Minh, andChe Guevara as two key defining features of the later New Left activists and groups.[46]
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During the early 20th century, the emergence of working-class consciousness led to the formation of several left-wing newspapers includingThe Maoriland Worker (1910–1924),The Weekly Herald,The Transport Worker, andThe New Zealand Watersider. During the 1930s, they were joined by activist theatre companies, politically-engaged literary magazines, the Left Book Club, the Co-Operative Book Movement, and the Progressive Publishing Company. During the Great Depression, liberal-left perspectives penetrated mainstream New Zealand society through churches, women's groups, populist radio programmes, and the Labour Party.[47][48]
TheMaoriland Worker later revamped itself as theNew Zealand Worker (1924–1935) and as the Labour Party's affiliated newspaperThe Standard (1935–1959). While it was sympathetic to the Labour Party, theMaoriland Worker was a largely radical socialist publication that was independent of the Labour Party.[48] The various Communist parties also published their own newspapers. The CPNZ's official organ was thePeople's Voice (1939–1991), which reached a peak of 14,000 copies in 1945.People's Voice was briefly replaced byWorker's Voice in the early 1990s. After the CPNZ transitioned into the Socialist Worker's Organisation it began publishingSocialist Worker (1994–2002),Socialist Worker Monthly Review (2002-2005), and finallyUnity (2005-2010). The Socialist Unity Party's newspaper was theTribune (1966–1995). The Worker's Party publishedThe Spark (1991–2013), which was succeeded byFightback (2013–present). The International Socialist Organisation publishedSocialist Review (1997–2022), followed by a successorThe Socialist (?-present). The Socialist Action League's newspaper wasSocialist Action (1969–1998), which reached a peak of 8,400 copies during the1978 general election. The Workers' Communist League's newspaper was calledUnity (1978–1990).[33][49][50]
Several notable independent socialist magazines and newspapers in New Zealand have included theNew Zealand Monthly Review (NZMR, 1960–1996),The Republican (1974–1996),Race Gender Class (1985–1992), left-wing journalistChris Trotter's social democraticNew Zealand Political Review (NZPR, 1992–2005),[51] the feministBroadsheet (1972–1997), the Peace Movement Aotearoa'sPeacelink, the queer feministBitches, Witches and Dykes, the anti-apartheidHART News,CARP Newsletter,Foreign Control Watchdog, andPeace Researcher. Other independent left-wing publications have included the Marxist Publishing Group'sRed Papers (1976–1979),The Paper (1973–1975), and the Victoria University Socialist Club'sRed Spark (1969–1970).[52]
Anarchists also published a number of magazines and newspapers over the years, such asThe State Adversary,Thr@ll,Dissident Voice,Imminent Rebellion, and the anarcha-feministSekhmet.
There are around twenty political parties or organizations in New Zealand which follow socialist or communist policies. It is often difficult to gain a clear picture of socialist parties in New Zealand - mergers, splits, and re-namings leave the situation confused. In 2019 only Organise Aotearoa, the International Socialist Organisation, Socialist Aotearoa, the Canterbury Socialist Society, and the Communist Party of Aotearoa hold regular public meetings and maintain regularly updated websites.
With the advent of the Internet during the 1990s and early 21st century, left-wing print media gave way to online alternative media, which were cheaper to produce. Notable left-wing New Zealand blogs have included the independent Marxist collective "Redline", "Against the Current",Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury's current affairs–orientedThe Daily Blog (2012–present), andThe Standard. Besides blogs, left wing alternative media have also utilised email newsletters, publishing software, and major social media platforms likeYouTube,Facebook, andTwitter.[58][59][60]
