New book discusses polarisation and it’s causes

Observers of trends in New Zealand, Britain, Australia and the USA will have noticed an increase in economic, political and social divisions. The divisive 2023 election campaign, the Brexit referendum and the Trump v Biden Presidential race highlight the increased social tensions. My new book, “On the Brink: Reconnecting communities in an age of division”, explores the underlying causes of the increased polarisation and proposes solutions to move towards a more balanced way forward. The book is based on several years of interaction with leaders in business, government, the not for profit sector and indigenous organisations. “On the Brink” can be purchased from Amazon . Get your copy today.

Lack of competition for Aussie banks in NZ

In my recent book “On the Brink” I highlighted the problems of lack of competition in the banking sector. Last night TVNZ News broadcast a report on the mega profits being made by the Big Four Australian-owned banks which have 90% of the NZ market. Bank profits are higher in NZ than in Australia. The cost of banking is a major cost for kiwi households. If the government is serious about lowering the cost of living for kiwi households then it needs to introduce more competition into the banking sector.

The introduction of open banking needs to happen this year. The banks have been given sufficient time to introduce open banking for the benefit of their customers. And they haven’t. It’s time for the Commerce Commission to regulate the banking sector to force open banking in 2024. Let customers choose and make it easy for them to change banking providers. For more details of the reforms proposed copies of my book “On the Brink” can be obtained from Amazon .

Credit: Otago Daily Times.

On the Brink: Reconnecting communities in an age of division gaining traction

Thank you for your support! I’m very pleased with the response to the new book “On the Brink”. The local media have covered it. I’ve had interest in several book reviews overseas as well as within New Zealand. Most recently I’ve been approached about doing a podcast in the US in March. So I will keep you updated on how that unfolds.

It seems that the book is speaking to an issue of the moment – a rejection of centralisation of power and a public desire for accountability of big institutions.

Successful launch of new book “On the Brink: Reconnecting communities in age of division

Wellington author, Roger Ellis, launched his new book to an appreciative Johnsonville audience of 40 people at St Johns Church Hall. He spoke for around 25 minutes about the growing divisions in societies both in New Zealand and overseas. He covered some of the underlying causes including the intertwined international economic, social and environmental crises.

Roger Ellis has more than 30 years experience in government, telecommunications, and community not for profit work. In his prepared comments he discussed the role of new technologies in making social divisions worse. He also focused on economic inequalities as an underlying driver of polarisation since the 1980s and 1990s. Mr Ellis discussed the growing level of debt, low productivity and lack of long term strategy – particularly for infrastructure investment in New Zealand.

The new book proposes some solutions to the challenges facing the country. He advocates a localist or distributist perspective emphasising shared values based on human dignity, community, and subsidiarity. Roger Ellis called for a devolution of power and resources to regions and local communities allowing for regional and local variations but building more participatory democracy.

Mr Ellis’s speech was followed by a lively question and answer session covering local government, regional empowerment, and examples of local community initiatives in lower socio-economic areas of Wellington. “On the Brink: Reconnecting communities in an age of division” is available for purchase from Amazon Australia in both e-kindle and paperback editions.

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On the Brink – how to buy the new book

“On The Brink: Reconnecting communities in an age of division” by Roger Ellis

I’ve produced a handy flyer with additional information for those of you who have asked about staying in touch with both the book and helping promote the ideas. So below are some ways you can stay in touch:

Book summary: Are we a society in a process of disintegration? Growing wealth and income inequalities, housing shortages, breakdown of families, loss of confidence in public institutions such as media and politics, increased attacks and threats of violence against elected Members of Parliament and news media are becoming more prevalent. Misinformation is rife. This does not bode well for the future of a free and fair democracy. For a significant number of groups there is a growing post-Covid disillusionment with government, job insecurity, loss of cultural identity, the failed promises of globalization and especially the growing gap between rich and poor at home and abroad. On the Brink proposes solutions to change course towards a decentralised property-owning democracy in contrast to State Socialism  or Global Capitalism where we create an economy for the common good.

Paperback version available from www.amazon.com.au    $A24.00

E-version from https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CV5W4VLV $A7.00

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Request the regular email updates: rogerellis@outlook.com

New book calls for new approach to overcome divisions.

Media statement

Tuesday, February 13th, 2024

New book calls for new approach to overcome divisions.

Tonight, a new book will be launched by Wellington author, Roger Ellis.

“This book, “On the Brink”, discusses creating conditions to foster the reconnecting of communities in an age of division. Over the last three decades we have witnessed a growing centralisation of economic and political power, the erosion of communities, and growing polarisation. The book identifies the underlying causes and suggests some solutions to help local and regional communities regain their place in decision-making and participation in a renewal of flax roots democracy,” said Roger Ellis.

“We need to give power back to local communities and regions so that people can make decisions over matters that directly impact them. That means rediscovering shared values that have worked for us in the past – such as respect for human dignity, a sense of community, seeking the common good, and subsidiarity.” said Mr Ellis.

The book covers a wide range of issues including the intertwined economic, social and environmental crises, technological advances, and offers some solutions aimed at empowering individuals, families, local communities and regions.

The book is available through Amazon bookstores in Paperback (from tomorrow) and kindle e-book (from today) editions and can be ordered from https://www.amazon.com.au   at https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CV5W4VLV

The book launch is at 7.30pm tonight, at St Johns Church Hall, 18 Bassett Road, Johnsonville, Wellington.

ENDS

For further information

Roger Ellis

 rogerellis@outlook.com   +64 21 526 264

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Information about the Author:

Roger Ellis has 30 years professional experience in New Zealand government, business and community sectors having held a wide variety of management and governance roles in addition to community leadership positions. The book is based on reflections of the author’s discussions with a wide range of New Zealand and international leaders from business, government, indigenous and community groups.

An Introduction to Distributism by John Médaille

John Medaille’s, article briefly introduces Distributism. Well worth a read for anyone wondering what it is or how it might work in practice.

“Distributism, is an economic theory formulated by Hilaire Belloc and G.K. Chesterton largely in response to the principles of Social Justice laid down by Leo XIII in his encyclical Rerum Novarum. Its key tenet is that ownership of the means of production should be as widespread as possible rather than being concentrated in the hands of a few owners (Capitalism) or in the hands of state bureaucrats (Socialism).

Belloc did not believe that he was developing a new economic theory, but rather expounding an old and widespread one against the novelties of both Capitalism and Socialism. Belloc believed that Capitalism could never achieve economic equilibrium on its own. It is an unstable system for two reasons: divergence from its own moral theory and from insecurity of two kinds. The moral theory of Capitalism is based on freedom, but it tends to accumulate property in the hands of a few owners; as ownership becomes more and more limited, more and more power passes to a small capitalist class.”

No – you can’t be a Marxist and a Christian.

Jordan Peterson is technically correct in https://youtu.be/fvmn1wLglak that you cannot be a Christian and a real Marxist. The two philosophies are polar opposites on core matters such as materialism, use of State power, the dignity of the individual person, religious freedom and human rights. But that does not mean that Christians do not care about human rights, social justice or the plight of the poor and vulnerable. They should.

In fact it’s pretty hard to read either the Old Testament or the New Testament and to come away with an attitude that justice for the poor doesn’t matter. It does.

What Peterson’s video exposes is the loose thinking among some people that seeks to blur two very different ways of living and how we view people, the State and free choice. It’s not possible to believe that all that matters is materialism and that spiritual matters should be to the fore. It’s not possible to believe that love overcomes all and also believe in hatred towards owners of property and violent revolution to take their property.

Goldwater – a man out of step with his time

US Senator and 1964 Republican nominee – Barry Goldwater.

I’ve just reviewed US Senator Barry Goldwater’s 1960 book “The Conscience of A Conservative”. Goldwater went on to be the Republican Party’s 1964 Presidential nominee and he influenced what was to become the “Reagan Revolution” of the 1980s.

“The Conscience of a Conservative” while published in 1960 is mired in the post-World War 2 Cold War fears which emerged after the Soviet Russian invasion of Eastern Europe in 1945 and the 1948 Berlin crisis. The Korean War 1950-53 turned the Cold War into a hot war and tensions throughout the world were raised. By the time of the 1956 Hungarian crisis – where pro-democracy supporters were slaughtered by Russian -backed military – communism had emerged as the great menace for western democracies. In the US McCarthyism took hold as panic spread regarding Russian infiltration of domestic labour unions and left wing peace groups.

The book makes the case for an extreme version of American “conservatism”, heavily influenced by the Cold War in its foreign policy and promoting unregulated capitalism in its economic policy. It is arguably classical Liberal (in the 19th century European sense) rather than truly conservative in its promotion of free trade, ending subsidies and removing regulation.

Interestingly Goldwater is very critical of the failure of the US government to strongly resist the expansion of Soviet influence during the 1950s – a time in which the US had a moderate Republican President who could not be accused of not understanding military affairs – General Dwight D Eisenhower.

Goldwater became bogged down in an out of date ideology that owed more to the 19th century in economics and was unbalanced and fixated with Russia in its foreign policy. It was an ideology of fear that among other things rationalised the huge military spend-up that prevailed in the 1960s. In the 1980s Ronald Reagan resurrected a similar ideology to promote his brand of economics, tax cuts and a strong cold warrior pose in foreign policy.

In addition to being out of touch with his times some of Goldwater’s extremism was positively frightening. For example, he frequently called for the development of what he termed “decisive superiority in small, clean nuclear weapons” to counter the Russian and Chinese superiority in conventional military strength. (Goldwater, 1960, p.61). Not only did this ignore the existing tensions between Russia and China (the fact that they were both communist did not mean they would fight alongside each other). It would have substantially increased the risk of worldwide nuclear war. In addition Goldwater adopted a States Rights approach to civil rights legislation, which while popular with some white southern states, alienated much of the rest of the country.

In 1964 when Goldwater ran for President his views were recognised as outdated and the American people rejected them by a large margin. Goldwater lost the election to Lyndon Johnson by what was then the largest margin in US electoral history.^[2] Goldwater accumulated just 52 electoral votes to Johnson’s 486 and 39% of the popular vote (27,178,188) to Johnson’s 61% (43,129,566).^[158] Goldwater was a principled US Senator, a friend of and political opponent of President John F Kennedy but he was also someone who adopted an overly ideological perspective which saw the world in very black and white terms. Given the frailties of human nature and the complexities of life on earth sometimes life and politics resemble many hues of grey. By 1964 Goldwater was a man out of step with his time.

The Reawakening of Progressive Conservatism

In the wake of the globalisation that swept the world in the 1980s and 1990s we are confronted with the problems of an increasingly global cartel capitalism. In 2020 Covid19 changed everything. Political parties on the right have given too much credence to free market global capitalism. Meanwhile parties on the Left have become stuck in liberal identity politics that ignore the big economic issues impacting workers today. Such matters may be popular with the university-educated elites in media, government and international bureaucracies like the United Nations or World Health Organisation. But they are increasingly a source of growing irritation among working class voters who feel overwhelmed and overlooked.

Brexit, Trump and the growth of yellow jacket protests in France all point to a growing populism that distrusts governments perceived to be working for the interests of elites – particularly global elites such as the World Economic Forum. Eric Kaufmann argues https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/rebirth-left-conservative-tradition that the rediscovery of a Left conservative voice has arisen from the disappointment of working class conservatives with the Religious Right which held onto traditional social values but too readily grasped free market solutions that undermined working class interests.

Repeating old mantras centred on lower taxes, less regulation and cutting government spending on healthcare, will not hold the appeal with voters in the future that it held in the 1980s and 1990s. If conservative parties, such as the Republicans in the United States and the Conservatives in the United Kingdom, are to regain their dominant position in the politics of their respective nations then they will need to ensure that the majority of their people have a stake in society, and that they feel like they have a stake in societies where they and their families work, live and play.