Socialism in New Zealand
Encyclopedia
The degree to which Socialism in New Zealand has been of significance in mainstream politics is debated, as varying definitions of socialism
and communism
make the extent of its influence difficult to measure. New Zealand has a complicated assortment of socialist causes and organizations. Some of these play a considerable role in public activism
- some commentators claim that New Zealand socialists are more prominent in things such as the anti-war movement than in promoting actual socialism itself. Other groups are strongly committed to radical socialist revolution.
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 more general "left-wing" or "centre-left" are used far more frequently.
Nevertheless, socialists of various types are still to be found in modern New Zealand politics. The Labour Party
, the Progressive Party
, and the Alliance
all have some links to socialism in their history, but under a New Zealand definition, they would generally not be considered socialist today. More likely to receive this label are the numerous socialist or communist parties that exist outside the mainstream political world - examples include the Workers' Party
, Socialist Worker (Aotearoa)
and the Communist League
.
" government which believed in the need to speed the country's economic growth, rather than in the form of an ideologically leftist government. These historians argue that because of New Zealand's small size and its focus on agriculture, the newly established government was forced to assume responsibility for many things that would otherwise be undertaken by private enterprise - railways, banking, insurance, and many other things that New Zealand's small business sector could not yet afford. Premier Julius Vogel
was a notable advocate of government projects of this nature. Later, the Liberal Party
was accused by its opponents of being "socialist", although most within the party rejected this. One commentator has claimed that until the Russian Revolution of 1917
, New Zealand was the most socialist country in the world, although many believe that this is overstating the case.
In 1901, the New Zealand Socialist Party
was founded, promoting the works of Karl Marx
and Friedrich Engels
. The group, despite being relatively moderate when compared with many other socialists, met with little tangiable success, but it nevertheless had considerable impact on the development of New Zealand socialism. In particular, Edward Hunter (sometimes known under the pen name "Billy Banjo", and a member of both the Socialist Party and the Federation of Labour), was a major figure in the spread of socialist ideas to the unions.
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 the Liberal Party
, where a number of prominent left-wing politicians (such as Frederick Pirani
) emerged. Later, however, there were increasing calls for an independent workers' party, particularly as the Liberals began to lose their reformist drive.
The second organised party to gain a seat in Parliament (after the Liberal Party) was the small Independent Political Labour League
, which won an urban electorate in Wellington
in the 1908 elections
. Later, in 1910, the IPLL was reformed as the Labour Party
(not to be confused with the modern party).
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 new United Labour Party
consisted only of the Labour Party and a number of independent campaigners.
Premier William Massey
's "heavy-handed" suppression of the Waihi miners' strike
prompted another attempt at unity in 1913. This time, the Socialists were willing to attend. A new group, the Social 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 the 1914 elections
, the remnants of the United Labour Party actually won more seats than the "united" Social Democrats.
Finally, in 1916, it was agreed that the Social Democrats and the United Labour Party remnants would all be amalgamated into a single group, the New Zealand Labour Party
. The new Labour Party was explicitly socialist, and was based around goals of redistribution of wealth, nationalization of industry, and elimination of conscription. Labour's first 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 impending class warfare. While the Labour Party gained some electoral success, it continued to trail the Liberal Party
and the Reform Party
until the replacement of Holland with Michael Joseph Savage
. Savage, although also involved in the earlier Socialist Party, was more moderate than Holland, and Labour gained considerable support. Assisted by the Great Depression
, Labour won a decisive victory in the 1935 elections
.
The early socialism of the Labour Party gradually faded, however. Two years after the Labour Party lost the 1949
elections, 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. The shift away from socialism had not come about without dispute, however Labour Party politician John A. Lee
was harshly critical of the changes, and had eventually left to establish the Democratic 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.
departed to form the Communist Party of New Zealand
. The remaining Marxians, who denied that the Russian Revolution represented genuine socialism, gradually declined in influence, and the Association collapsed in 1922.
In 1930, however, former members of the Marxian Association (backed by members of the Socialist Party of Australia) established the Socialist Party of New Zealand (distinct from the earlier New 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 the World Socialist Party of New Zealand).
The Communist Party, meanwhile, was active in attempting to gain support in the unions. The Auckland region's Trade Council was a significant bastion for the party in the 1940s. The party faithfully followed the official position of the Soviet Union, and therefore adopted Stalinism
- this was criticised by the Socialist Party, which claimed that Stalinism was not socialism at all.
When the Sino-Soviet split
occurred in the 1960s, the Communist Party was sharply divided between supporters of the Soviet Union (led by the "revisionist" Nikita Khrushchev
) and supporters of China (led by the radical Mao Zedong
). Eventually, the Maoists triumphed, and supporters of Khrushchev were expelled. The expelled members eventually established the Socialist Unity Party
, although there is debate how that group should properly be classified. The Socialist Unity party eventually suffererd its own split, with some members departing to found the modern Socialist Party of Aotearoa.
In 1969, a group called the Socialist Action League (now the Communist League
) was established. The League has proven to be one of the more durable parties, and contested two seats in the 2002 elections
. Numerous other parties have been established since then, but few have proven as stable.
After Mao's death, the Communist Party rejected the reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping
. Instead, they followed Albania
, which was led by Enver Hoxha
. 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. After the collapse of Albanian communism, the party adopted the Trotskyism
it had once harshly condemned, and merged with a newer group known as the International Socialist Organization
. The resultant party was called the Socialist Workers Organization
. 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 as a continuation of the old Communist Party. The group did not submit any candidates for the most recent elections.
Other groups continue to promote socialism as well. In the 2002 elections
, four candidates were put forward an umbrella group (known as the Anti-Capitalist Alliance) consisting of the Workers Party of New Zealand
, the Revolution group, and other left-wing activists. The International Socialist Organization
is also active at some universities.
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
and communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
make the extent of its influence difficult to measure. New Zealand has a complicated assortment of socialist causes and organizations. Some of these play a considerable role in public activism
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
- some commentators claim that New Zealand socialists are more prominent in things such as the anti-war movement than in promoting actual socialism itself. Other groups are strongly committed to radical socialist revolution.
Present status of New Zealand socialism
The extent to which socialism plays a part in modern New Zealand politicsPolitics of New Zealand
The politics of New Zealand take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic monarchy. The basic system is closely patterned on that of the Westminster System, although a number of significant modifications have been made...
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 more general "left-wing" or "centre-left" are used far more frequently.
Nevertheless, socialists of various types are still to be found in modern New Zealand politics. The Labour Party
New Zealand Labour Party
The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....
, the Progressive Party
New Zealand Progressive Party
Jim Anderton's Progressive Party , is a New Zealand political party generally somewhat to the left of its ally, the Labour Party....
, and the Alliance
Alliance (New Zealand political party)
The Alliance is a left-wing political party in New Zealand. It was formed in 1991, and was influential in the 1990s, but has since declined and has no representation in parliament. It suffered a major setback after Jim Anderton, the party's leader, left the party in 2002, taking several of the...
all have some links to socialism in their history, but under a New Zealand definition, they would generally not be considered socialist today. More likely to receive this label are the numerous socialist or communist parties that exist outside the mainstream political world - examples include the Workers' Party
Workers Party of New Zealand
The Workers Party of New Zealand was a socialist/communist political party in New Zealand...
, Socialist Worker (Aotearoa)
Socialist Worker (Aotearoa)
Socialist Worker is a socialist organisation based in Aotearoa/New Zealand.SW evolved out of the group known as the Socialist Workers Organization, the successor organisation of the Communist Party of New Zealand...
and the Communist League
Communist League (New Zealand)
-History:The party was founded in 1969 by students from Victoria University of Wellington, and was originally named the Socialist Action League. The new party rejected the more established groups such as the Communist Party as too authoritarian, conservative, and unimaginative, but at the same...
.
Non-ideological socialism
The growth of socialism as an ideology in New Zealand only began to occur around the beginning of the 20th century. Some historians, however, claim that a sort of "non-ideological" socialism was born shortly after the establishment of self-government, and flourished in the late 19th century. This, they say, was mostly in the form of a "paternalisticPaternalism
Paternalism refers to attitudes or states of affairs that exemplify a traditional relationship between father and child. Two conditions of paternalism are usually identified: interference with liberty and a beneficent intention towards those whose liberty is interfered with...
" government which believed in the need to speed the country's economic growth, rather than in the form of an ideologically leftist government. These historians argue that because of New Zealand's small size and its focus on agriculture, the newly established government was forced to assume responsibility for many things that would otherwise be undertaken by private enterprise - railways, banking, insurance, and many other things that New Zealand's small business sector could not yet afford. Premier Julius Vogel
Julius Vogel
Sir Julius Vogel, KCMG was the eighth Premier of New Zealand. His administration is best remembered for the issuing of bonds to fund railway construction and other public works...
was a notable advocate of government projects of this nature. Later, the Liberal Party
New Zealand Liberal Party
The New Zealand Liberal Party is generally regarded as having been the first real political party in New Zealand. It governed from 1891 until 1912. Out of office, the Liberals gradually found themselves pressed between the conservative Reform Party and the growing Labour Party...
was accused by its opponents of being "socialist", although most within the party rejected this. One commentator has claimed that until the Russian Revolution of 1917
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
, New Zealand was the most socialist country in the world, although many believe that this is overstating the case.
Workers' parties
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 of trade unions. The New Zealand Federation of Labour was influenced by socialist theories, as were many other labour organizations.In 1901, the New Zealand Socialist Party
New Zealand Socialist Party
The New Zealand Socialist Party was founded in 1901, promoting the works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The group, despite being relatively moderate when compared with many other socialists, met with little tangible success, but it nevertheless had considerable impact on the development of New...
was founded, promoting the works of Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
and Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels was a German industrialist, social scientist, author, political theorist, philosopher, and father of Marxist theory, alongside Karl Marx. In 1845 he published The Condition of the Working Class in England, based on personal observations and research...
. The group, despite being relatively moderate when compared with many other socialists, met with little tangiable success, but it nevertheless had considerable impact on the development of New Zealand socialism. In particular, Edward Hunter (sometimes known under the pen name "Billy Banjo", and a member of both the Socialist Party and the Federation of Labour), was a major figure in the spread of socialist ideas to the unions.
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 the Liberal Party
New Zealand Liberal Party
The New Zealand Liberal Party is generally regarded as having been the first real political party in New Zealand. It governed from 1891 until 1912. Out of office, the Liberals gradually found themselves pressed between the conservative Reform Party and the growing Labour Party...
, where a number of prominent left-wing politicians (such as Frederick Pirani
Frederick Pirani
Frederick Pirani was a New Zealand politician. He was Member of the House of Representatives for Palmerston from 1893 to 1902, first as a Liberal, then as an Independent. He was part of the Liberal Party's "left" wing.-Early life:Pirani was born in Melbourne, Australia, and his family emigrated...
) emerged. Later, however, there were increasing calls for an independent workers' party, particularly as the Liberals began to lose their reformist drive.
The second organised party to gain a seat in Parliament (after the Liberal Party) was the small Independent Political Labour League
Independent Political Labour League
The Independent Political Labour League was a small New Zealand political party. It was the second organised political party to win a seat in the New Zealand Parliament, and was a forerunner of the modern Labour Party....
, which won an urban electorate in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
in the 1908 elections
New Zealand general election, 1908
The New Zealand general election of 1908 was held on Tuesday, 17 November, 24 November and 1 December in the general electorates, and on Wednesday, 2 December in the Māori electorates to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 17th session of the New Zealand Parliament...
. Later, in 1910, the IPLL was reformed as the Labour Party
New Zealand Labour Party (original)
The original New Zealand Labour Party was a short-lived left-wing political party in New Zealand. It is a predecessor of the modern party....
(not to be confused with the modern party).
Unification of the labour movement
United Labour Party (New Zealand)
The United Labour Party of New Zealand was an early left-wing political party. Founded in 1912, it represented the more moderate wing of the labour movement. In 1916 it joined with other political groups to establish the modern Labour Party.- Origins :...
consisted only of the Labour Party and a number of independent campaigners.
Premier William Massey
William Massey
William Ferguson Massey, often known as Bill Massey or "Farmer Bill" served as the 19th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1912 to 1925, and was the founder of the Reform Party. He is widely considered to have been one of the more skilled politicians of his time, and was known for the particular...
's "heavy-handed" suppression of the Waihi miners' strike
Waihi miners' strike
The Waihi miners' strike was a major strike action in 1912 by gold miners in the New Zealand town of Waihi. It is widely regarded as the most significant industrial action in the history of New Zealand's labour movement...
prompted another attempt at unity in 1913. This time, the Socialists were willing to attend. A new group, the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party (New Zealand)
The Social Democratic Party of New Zealand was an early left-wing political party. It existed only a short time before being amalgamated into the new Labour 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 the 1914 elections
New Zealand general election, 1914
The New Zealand general election of 1914 was held on 10 December to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 19th session of the New Zealand Parliament. A total number of 616,043 voters were registered, of which 84.7% voters turned out to vote....
, the remnants of the United Labour Party actually won more seats than the "united" Social Democrats.
Finally, in 1916, it was agreed that the Social Democrats and the United Labour Party remnants would all be amalgamated into a single group, the New Zealand Labour Party
New Zealand Labour Party
The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....
. The new Labour Party was explicitly socialist, and was based around goals of redistribution of wealth, nationalization of industry, and elimination of conscription. Labour's first leader, Harry Holland
Harry Holland
Henry Edmund Holland was a New Zealand politician and unionist. He was the first leader of the New Zealand Labour Party.-Early life:...
, 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 impending class warfare. While the Labour Party gained some electoral success, it continued to trail the Liberal Party
New Zealand Liberal Party
The New Zealand Liberal Party is generally regarded as having been the first real political party in New Zealand. It governed from 1891 until 1912. Out of office, the Liberals gradually found themselves pressed between the conservative Reform Party and the growing Labour Party...
and the Reform Party
New Zealand Reform Party
The Reform Party, formally the New Zealand Political Reform League, was New Zealand's second major political party, having been founded as a conservative response to the original Liberal Party...
until the replacement of Holland with Michael Joseph Savage
Michael Joseph Savage
Michael Joseph Savage was the first Labour Prime Minister of New Zealand.- Early life :Born in Tatong, Victoria, Australia, Savage first became involved in politics while working in that state. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1907. There he worked in a variety of jobs, as a miner, flax-cutter and...
. Savage, although also involved in the earlier Socialist Party, was more moderate than Holland, and Labour gained considerable support. Assisted by the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, Labour won a decisive victory in the 1935 elections
New Zealand general election, 1935
The 1935 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 25th term. It resulted in the Labour Party's first electoral victory, with Michael Joseph Savage becoming the first Labour Prime Minister...
.
The early socialism of the Labour Party gradually faded, however. Two years after the Labour Party lost the 1949
New Zealand general election, 1949
The 1949 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 29th term. It saw the governing Labour Party defeated by the opposition National Party...
elections, 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. The shift away from socialism had not come about without dispute, however Labour Party politician John A. Lee
John A. Lee
John Alfred Alexander Lee DCM was a New Zealand politician and writer. He is one of the more prominent avowed socialists in New Zealand's political history.-Early life:...
was harshly critical of the changes, and had eventually left to establish the Democratic Labour Party
Democratic Labour Party (New Zealand)
The Democratic Labour Party was a left-wing political party in New Zealand in the 1940s. It was a splinter from the larger Labour Party, and was led by the prominent socialist John A. Lee.-Party history:...
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.
Reassertion of communism
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, the New Zealand Marxian Association was established. It would later clash acrimoniously with Holland. The Marxian Association itself would fall prey to internal division in 1921, a number of members who supported the Russian RevolutionRussian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
departed to form the Communist Party of New Zealand
Communist Party of New Zealand
The Communist Party of New Zealand was a Communist political party in New Zealand from the 1920s to the early 1990s. It never achieved significant political success, and no longer exists as an independent group, although the Socialist Worker organisation is considered organisationally continuous...
. The remaining Marxians, who denied that the Russian Revolution represented genuine socialism, gradually declined in influence, and the Association collapsed in 1922.
In 1930, however, former members of the Marxian Association (backed by members of the Socialist Party of Australia) established the Socialist Party of New Zealand (distinct from the earlier New Zealand Socialist Party
New Zealand Socialist Party
The New Zealand Socialist Party was founded in 1901, promoting the works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The group, despite being relatively moderate when compared with many other socialists, met with little tangible success, but it nevertheless had considerable impact on the development of New...
). 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 the World Socialist Party of New Zealand).
The Communist Party, meanwhile, was active in attempting to gain support in the unions. The Auckland region's Trade Council was a significant bastion for the party in the 1940s. The party faithfully followed the official position of the Soviet Union, and therefore adopted Stalinism
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
- this was criticised by the Socialist Party, which claimed that Stalinism was not socialism at all.
When the Sino-Soviet split
Sino-Soviet split
In political science, the term Sino–Soviet split denotes the worsening of political and ideologic relations between the People's Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics during the Cold War...
occurred in the 1960s, the Communist Party was sharply divided between supporters of the Soviet Union (led by the "revisionist" Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
) and supporters of China (led by the radical Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
). Eventually, the Maoists triumphed, and supporters of Khrushchev were expelled. The expelled members eventually established the Socialist Unity Party
Socialist Unity Party (New Zealand)
The Socialist Unity Party was one of the better-known communist parties in New Zealand. It had a certain amount of influence in the trade union movement, but never won seats in Parliament....
, although there is debate how that group should properly be classified. The Socialist Unity party eventually suffererd its own split, with some members departing to found the modern Socialist Party of Aotearoa.
In 1969, a group called the Socialist Action League (now the Communist League
Communist League (New Zealand)
-History:The party was founded in 1969 by students from Victoria University of Wellington, and was originally named the Socialist Action League. The new party rejected the more established groups such as the Communist Party as too authoritarian, conservative, and unimaginative, but at the same...
) was established. The League has proven to be one of the more durable parties, and contested two seats in the 2002 elections
New Zealand general election, 2002
The 2002 New Zealand general election was held on 27 July 2002 to determine the composition of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the reelection of Helen Clark's Labour Party government, as well as the worst-ever performance by the opposition National Party.Arguably the most controversial...
. Numerous other parties have been established since then, but few have proven as stable.
After Mao's death, the Communist Party rejected the reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping was a Chinese politician, statesman, and diplomat. As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng was a reformer who led China towards a market economy...
. Instead, they followed Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, which was led by Enver Hoxha
Enver Hoxha
Enver Halil Hoxha was a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary andthe leader of Albania from the end of World War II until his death in 1985, as the First Secretary of the Party 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. After the collapse of Albanian communism, the party adopted the Trotskyism
Trotskyism
Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
it had once harshly condemned, and merged with a newer group known as the International Socialist Organization
International Socialist Organization (New Zealand)
The International Socialist Organisation is a Trotskyist organisation in New Zealand. It is based in Dunedin.The founders of the ISO in New Zealand, notably Brian Roper, had developed sympathies with the International Socialism current of Trotskyism while living overseas...
. The resultant party was called the Socialist Workers Organization
Socialist Workers Organization (New Zealand)
The Socialist Workers Organization was a Trotskyist organisation based in New Zealand. It was part of the International Socialist Tendency, the Socialist Workers Party's international tendency....
. 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 as a continuation of the old Communist Party. The group did not submit any candidates for the most recent elections.
Other groups continue to promote socialism as well. In the 2002 elections
New Zealand general election, 2002
The 2002 New Zealand general election was held on 27 July 2002 to determine the composition of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the reelection of Helen Clark's Labour Party government, as well as the worst-ever performance by the opposition National Party.Arguably the most controversial...
, four candidates were put forward an umbrella group (known as the Anti-Capitalist Alliance) consisting of the Workers Party of New Zealand
Workers Party of New Zealand
The Workers Party of New Zealand was a socialist/communist political party in New Zealand...
, the Revolution group, and other left-wing activists. The International Socialist Organization
International Socialist Organization (New Zealand)
The International Socialist Organisation is a Trotskyist organisation in New Zealand. It is based in Dunedin.The founders of the ISO in New Zealand, notably Brian Roper, had developed sympathies with the International Socialism current of Trotskyism while living overseas...
is also active at some universities.
Socialist parties in New Zealand
Due to frequent splintering, there are around twenty political parties or organizations in New Zealand which follow socialist or communist policies, none of which have an uncontested claim to dominance. As such, it is often difficult to gain a clear picture of socialist parties in New Zealand - mergers, splits, and renamings leave the situation confused. Furthermore, many of the parties have conflicting accounts of various events.Modern parties and organizations
- BlackCat Anarchist Collective - an anarcho-communist group based in the city of Auckland.
- Class War - an anarcho-communist group based in the city of Auckland.
- Communist LeagueCommunist League (New Zealand)-History:The party was founded in 1969 by students from Victoria University of Wellington, and was originally named the Socialist Action League. The new party rejected the more established groups such as the Communist Party as too authoritarian, conservative, and unimaginative, but at the same...
- a TrotskyistTrotskyismTrotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
group established in 1969 as the "Socialist Action League". It has links to the Socialist Workers PartySocialist Workers Party (United States)The Socialist Workers Party is a far-left political organization in the United States. The group places a priority on "solidarity work" to aid strikes and is strongly supportive of Cuba...
of the USA. The Communist League had two candidates in the 2002 electionsNew Zealand general election, 2002The 2002 New Zealand general election was held on 27 July 2002 to determine the composition of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the reelection of Helen Clark's Labour Party government, as well as the worst-ever performance by the opposition National Party.Arguably the most controversial...
, but neither won their respective races. - Communist Workers' GroupCommunist Workers' Group (New Zealand)The Communist Workers' Group is a Trotskyist political group in New Zealand. Its origins are to be found in a split in the NZ Spartacist League in 1972 which led to the formation of the Communist Left of Australia in 1974. The Communist Left of NZ was formed in 1981...
- a TrotskyistTrotskyismTrotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
group. It was established in 1995 as a splinter group from the Workers' Power organization. It is associated with the global Liaison Committee of Militants for a Revolutionary Communist International alliance, which itself was a split from the gobal alliance that Workers' Power belonged to. - Industrial Workers of the World - an anarcho-syndicalistAnarcho-syndicalismAnarcho-syndicalism is a branch of anarchism which focuses on the labour movement. The word syndicalism comes from the French word syndicat which means trade union , from the Latin word syndicus which in turn comes from the Greek word σύνδικος which means caretaker of an issue...
organization established in 2000. - Communist Party of AotearoaCommunist Party of AotearoaThe Communist Party of Aotearoa is a Maoist political party which formed in 1993 as a split from the Communist Party of New Zealand, which had formerly been Maoist, but was then drifting towards Trotskyism....
- a MaoistMaoismMaoism, also known as the Mao Zedong Thought , is claimed by Maoists as an anti-Revisionist form of Marxist communist theory, derived from the teachings of the Chinese political leader Mao Zedong . Developed during the 1950s and 1960s, it was widely applied as the political and military guiding...
group that split from the Communist Party of New ZealandCommunist Party of New ZealandThe Communist Party of New Zealand was a Communist political party in New Zealand from the 1920s to the early 1990s. It never achieved significant political success, and no longer exists as an independent group, although the Socialist Worker organisation is considered organisationally continuous...
in 1993, condemning that organization's abandonment of Maoism and adoption of TrotskyismTrotskyismTrotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
. - International Socialist OrganizationInternational Socialist Organization (New Zealand)The International Socialist Organisation is a Trotskyist organisation in New Zealand. It is based in Dunedin.The founders of the ISO in New Zealand, notably Brian Roper, had developed sympathies with the International Socialism current of Trotskyism while living overseas...
- a revolutionary TrotskyistTrotskyismTrotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
group that is particularly active in universities. It briefly attempted to merge with the remnants of the Communist Party of New ZealandCommunist Party of New ZealandThe Communist Party of New Zealand was a Communist political party in New Zealand from the 1920s to the early 1990s. It never achieved significant political success, and no longer exists as an independent group, although the Socialist Worker organisation is considered organisationally continuous...
, forming the Socialist Workers OrganizationSocialist Workers Organization (New Zealand)The Socialist Workers Organization was a Trotskyist organisation based in New Zealand. It was part of the International Socialist Tendency, the Socialist Workers Party's international tendency....
. However, the majority of the group eventually rejected this decision and reestablished their own party but were now outside of the International Socialist TendencyInternational Socialist TendencyThe International Socialist Tendency is an international grouping of unorthodox Trotskyist organisations based around the ideas of Tony Cliff, founder of the Socialist Workers Party in Britain...
. - Libertarian Communists - an anarcho-communist organization.
- Organisation for Marxist UnityOrganisation for Marxist Unity - New ZealandThe Organisation for Marxist Unity was founded in the 1975 as the Preparatory Committee for the Formation of the Communist Party of New Zealand , by former members of the CPNZ including Don Ross, Alec Ostler and Peter Manson...
- a MaoistMaoismMaoism, also known as the Mao Zedong Thought , is claimed by Maoists as an anti-Revisionist form of Marxist communist theory, derived from the teachings of the Chinese political leader Mao Zedong . Developed during the 1950s and 1960s, it was widely applied as the political and military guiding...
group. - Permanent Revolution Group - a TrotskyistTrotskyismTrotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
group established as a breakaway from the Spartacist League (which later became the Workers' Power organization). It is associated with the International Bolshevik Tendency. - Revolutionary Workers League - a merger of the pro-MaoMao ZedongMao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
, Marxist-Leninist Workers' Party of New ZealandWorkers Party of New ZealandThe Workers Party of New Zealand was a socialist/communist political party in New Zealand...
and the Revolution group. A tendency within the modern Workers' Party of New ZealandWorkers Party of New ZealandThe Workers Party of New Zealand was a socialist/communist political party in New Zealand...
. - Socialist Alternative - a TrotskyistTrotskyismTrotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
group established in 2002. It is associated with the Committee for a Workers' InternationalCommittee for a Workers' InternationalThe Committee for a Workers' International is an international association of Trotskyist parties. Members include the Socialist Party of England and Wales, the Socialist Party , the Socialist Party the Democratic Socialist Movement in South Africa and Nigeria and groups using the name Socialist...
, and is therefore linked to the Socialist Party of England and Wales. - Socialist AotearoaSocialist AotearoaSocialist Aotearoa is a socialist organisation based in Aotearoa/New Zealand. SA formed as a split from Socialist Worker in 2008. They have branches in Auckland and Wellington and work closely with the International Socialist Organisation. Although the two groups are not formally aligned with the...
- an AucklandAucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
-based group formed in May 2008 which split from Socialist Worker (Aotearoa)Socialist Worker (Aotearoa)Socialist Worker is a socialist organisation based in Aotearoa/New Zealand.SW evolved out of the group known as the Socialist Workers Organization, the successor organisation of the Communist Party of New Zealand...
over disagreement with the organization's participation in the Residents Action MovementResidents Action MovementThe Residents Action Movement was a political party in New Zealand. RAM described itself as a broad left coalition, stretching from social liberals, community activists and former National Party members to social democrats, democratic socialists and left-wing radicals...
electoral coalition. The group has an eclectic mix of Trotskyists, anarchists, ecosocialists and various other ideologies in its ranks. - Socialist Party of Aotearoa - a Marxist-Leninist group. It was founded in 1990 as a split from the Socialist Unity PartySocialist Unity Party (New Zealand)The Socialist Unity Party was one of the better-known communist parties in New Zealand. It had a certain amount of influence in the trade union movement, but never won seats in Parliament....
, which was itself a split from the Communist Party of New ZealandCommunist Party of New ZealandThe Communist Party of New Zealand was a Communist political party in New Zealand from the 1920s to the early 1990s. It never achieved significant political success, and no longer exists as an independent group, although the Socialist Worker organisation is considered organisationally continuous...
. - Socialist Worker (Aotearoa)Socialist Worker (Aotearoa)Socialist Worker is a socialist organisation based in Aotearoa/New Zealand.SW evolved out of the group known as the Socialist Workers Organization, the successor organisation of the Communist Party of New Zealand...
. A revolutionary socialist group aligned with the INternational Socialist Tendency, evolving out of the SWO. - Workers Party of New ZealandWorkers Party of New ZealandThe Workers Party of New Zealand was a socialist/communist political party in New Zealand...
- The party was founded in 2002. It was originally formed by an electoral alliance of the original Workers' Party (pro-Mao, Marxist-Leninist) and the pro-Trotsky Revolution group. it is the first, and so far only, registered hard leftHard leftHard left is a name often given to an internal tendency within the British Labour Party. Similar terminology is used also in the context of the Australian Labor Party....
political party under MMPMixed member proportional representationMixed-member proportional representation, also termed mixed-member proportional voting and commonly abbreviated to MMP, is a voting system originally used to elect representatives to the German Bundestag, and nowadays adopted by numerous legislatures around the world...
. - Workers' Power - a TrotskyistTrotskyismTrotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
group formed in 1981 with links to the global Workers' Power entity. It later absorbed a group called the "Communist Left". It is linked to the League for a Fifth International. - World Socialist Party of New Zealand - a group based primarily around opposition to LeninismLeninismIn Marxist philosophy, Leninism is the body of political theory for the democratic organisation of a revolutionary vanguard party, and the achievement of a direct-democracy dictatorship of the proletariat, as political prelude to the establishment of socialism...
. It was originally established in 1930 simply as the "Socialist Party of New Zealand", but later added "world" to its name. It is affiliated with the World Socialist MovementWorld Socialist MovementThe World Socialist Movement is an international organisation of affiliated socialist parties created in 1904 with the founding of the Socialist Party of Great Britain...
.
Defunct parties and organizations
- Communist Party of New ZealandCommunist Party of New ZealandThe Communist Party of New Zealand was a Communist political party in New Zealand from the 1920s to the early 1990s. It never achieved significant political success, and no longer exists as an independent group, although the Socialist Worker organisation is considered organisationally continuous...
- an old communist group that initially gained a modest measure of success, but which later declined. The party became attached to StalinismStalinismStalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
, and when the Sino-Soviet splitSino-Soviet splitIn political science, the term Sino–Soviet split denotes the worsening of political and ideologic relations between the People's Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics during the Cold War...
occurred, the party adopted MaoismMaoismMaoism, also known as the Mao Zedong Thought , is claimed by Maoists as an anti-Revisionist form of Marxist communist theory, derived from the teachings of the Chinese political leader Mao Zedong . Developed during the 1950s and 1960s, it was widely applied as the political and military guiding...
. Later, after MaoMao ZedongMao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
's death, it followed Enver HoxhaEnver HoxhaEnver Halil Hoxha was a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary andthe leader of Albania from the end of World War II until his death in 1985, as the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania...
, leader of AlbaniaAlbaniaAlbania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
(which they considered to be the last bastion of true communism). After the fall of Albania, the party renounced all these ideologies and adopted TrotskyismTrotskyismTrotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
. The party then attempted a merger with the International Socialist OrganizationInternational Socialist Organization (New Zealand)The International Socialist Organisation is a Trotskyist organisation in New Zealand. It is based in Dunedin.The founders of the ISO in New Zealand, notably Brian Roper, had developed sympathies with the International Socialism current of Trotskyism while living overseas...
, creating the Socialist Workers OrganizationSocialist Workers Organization (New Zealand)The Socialist Workers Organization was a Trotskyist organisation based in New Zealand. It was part of the International Socialist Tendency, the Socialist Workers Party's international tendency....
. Most of the International Socialists eventually withdrew from this coalition, leaving the new Socialist Workers Organization dominated by the former Communist Party. - New Zealand Marxian Association - a group established in 1918. It was founded to give endorsement and support to "Marxian Revolutionist" candidates in general elections.
- New Zealand Socialist PartyNew Zealand Socialist PartyThe New Zealand Socialist Party was founded in 1901, promoting the works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The group, despite being relatively moderate when compared with many other socialists, met with little tangible success, but it nevertheless had considerable impact on the development of New...
- an organization established in 1901. It should not be confused with the Socialist Party of New Zealand, a completely separate organization which is now known as the World Socialist Party of New Zealand. - Socialist Unity PartySocialist Unity Party (New Zealand)The Socialist Unity Party was one of the better-known communist parties in New Zealand. It had a certain amount of influence in the trade union movement, but never won seats in Parliament....
- a pro-Soviet party established by expelled members of the Communist Party. The Communist Party had been split between supporters of the Soviet Union and supporters of Mao ZedongMao ZedongMao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
's China, and the pro-Soviet faction eventually lost. The Socialist Unity party survived until relatively recently, and maintained a relatively high level of influence in the trade union movement.
- Socialist Workers OrganizationSocialist Workers Organization (New Zealand)The Socialist Workers Organization was a Trotskyist organisation based in New Zealand. It was part of the International Socialist Tendency, the Socialist Workers Party's international tendency....
- a revolutionary TrotskyistTrotskyismTrotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
party. It was established by the Communist Party of New ZealandCommunist Party of New ZealandThe Communist Party of New Zealand was a Communist political party in New Zealand from the 1920s to the early 1990s. It never achieved significant political success, and no longer exists as an independent group, although the Socialist Worker organisation is considered organisationally continuous...
and the International Socialist OrganizationInternational Socialist Organization (New Zealand)The International Socialist Organisation is a Trotskyist organisation in New Zealand. It is based in Dunedin.The founders of the ISO in New Zealand, notably Brian Roper, had developed sympathies with the International Socialism current of Trotskyism while living overseas...
, although the majority of the latter group eventually withdrew from the merger. It was linked to the International Socialist TendencyInternational Socialist TendencyThe International Socialist Tendency is an international grouping of unorthodox Trotskyist organisations based around the ideas of Tony Cliff, founder of the Socialist Workers Party in Britain...
. It evolved into the present day Socialist Worker (Aotearoa)Socialist Worker (Aotearoa)Socialist Worker is a socialist organisation based in Aotearoa/New Zealand.SW evolved out of the group known as the Socialist Workers Organization, the successor organisation of the Communist Party of New Zealand...
group. - Workers' Party of New Zealand (pro-Mao, Marxist-Leninist) - A pro-MaoMao ZedongMao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
, Marxist-Leninist party founded by Ray Nunes, formerly a prominent member of the Communist Party of New ZealandCommunist Party of New ZealandThe Communist Party of New Zealand was a Communist political party in New Zealand from the 1920s to the early 1990s. It never achieved significant political success, and no longer exists as an independent group, although the Socialist Worker organisation is considered organisationally continuous...
. The party joined the Anti-Capitalist AllianceWorkers Party of New ZealandThe Workers Party of New Zealand was a socialist/communist political party in New Zealand...
(ACA), a radical-left electoral alliance, in 2002. The Workers' Party merged with Revolution to become the Revolutionary Workers' League in 2004.
Prominent figures in New Zealand socialism
- Edward Hunter (aka "Billy Banjo")
- John A. LeeJohn A. LeeJohn Alfred Alexander Lee DCM was a New Zealand politician and writer. He is one of the more prominent avowed socialists in New Zealand's political history.-Early life:...
External links
- Leftist Parties of New Zealand - contains links and statistics for left-wing (not necessarily socialist/communist) parties in New Zealand. Includes links to most parties mentioned above.