A new project

I've been thinking about this particular project for quite some time.

I'd like to examine the ideological shift that took place in the 1980s in the economic and political thinking of countries like the US (with Reagonomics), the UK (Thatcherism) and New Zealand (Rogernomics) . Although the first two experiences are better known the last example, New Zealand is probably the best example of what the revolution brought on by this thinking could produce. In fact it is a shame that it is not better known.

I also would like to contrast that experience with the backlash that took place throughout the latter part of the 1990s and John Ralston Saul has characterized as the 'End of Globalization'. I think that enough time has passed now that it is possible to examine this period with a bit more dispassion. As someone who "came of age" politically at the end of the 1990s, going back to the 1980s presents a pretty interesting story.

A lot of the groundwork of the globalization ideology that had protesters up in arms in the late 1990s in Seattle came about in the 1980s. In large respect the internationalization of this movement was an attempt to 'lock in' the reforms done at the national level during the 1980s.

Canada also played a role in this, especially contentious for us was the GST but the same was done in most countries (notably excluding the US). Slashing income tax rates and increasing reliance on consumption taxes (which are regressive) was a key plank of the neo-conservative revolutionaries. Canada was to some degree protected by its federal structure which meant that the federal government could never have gone as far as the government of New Zealand could have gone, and thank god! What is interesting is the fact that New Zealand changed its electoral system as a result of the aggressive use of the powers conferred by its first past the post system, and the result was a moderating of the impulse to radically change things.

I see the possibility of using the New Zealand, US and UK possibly also Canada and Australia examples as case studies in the large trend of economic policy making during the period.

These countries are close enough in terms of culture and form part of the English speaking world or English speaking block.

Anyways it should be a huge project but one that I feel is worth exploring.