Socialism in New Zealand had little traction in early
colonial New Zealand
The Colony of New Zealand was a Crown colony of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that encompassed the islands of New Zealand from 1841 to 1907. The power of the British government was vested in the Governor of New Zealand, as th ...
but developed as a
political movement
A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some t ...
around the beginning of the 20th century. Much of
socialism
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
's early growth was found in the
labour movement
The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other.
* The trade union movement ...
.
The extent to which socialism plays a part in modern
New 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
Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soc ...
" is more common, but the general "
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
" or "
centre-left
Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The c ...
" are used far more frequently. New Zealand has a complicated assortment of socialist causes and organisations. Some of these play a considerable role in public
activism
Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in Social change, social, Political campaign, political, economic or Natural environment, environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes i ...
, such as the
anti-war movement
An anti-war movement (also ''antiwar'') is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term anti-war can also refer to ...
; other groups are strongly committed to
socialist revolution
Revolutionary socialism is a political philosophy, doctrine, and tradition within socialism that stresses the idea that a social revolution is necessary to bring about structural changes in society. More specifically, it is the view that revoluti ...
.
Several prominent
political parties in New Zealand
New Zealand national politics have featured a pervasive party system since the early 20th century. Usually, all members of Parliament's unicameral House of Representatives belong to a political party. Independent MPs do not occur often.
While ...
, such as the
New Zealand Labour Party
The New Zealand Labour Party ( mi, Rōpū Reipa o Aotearoa), or simply Labour (), is a centre-left political party in New Zealand. The party's platform programme describes its founding principle as democratic socialism, while observers descr ...
, have historical links to socialism but are not generally considered socialist today due to their acceptance of a
capitalist
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...
economy. More likely to receive this label are the small
Marxist
Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
organisations that exist outside the political mainstream, such as
Organise Aotearoa, the
International Socialist Organisation,
Socialist Aotearoa, or the Communist Party of Aotearoa.
History of New Zealand socialism
Academic
Josephine F. Milburn
Josephine may refer to:
People
* Josephine (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
* Josephine (singer), a Greek pop singer
Places
*Josephine, Texas, United States
*Mount Josephine (disambiguation)
* Josephine Count ...
argues that socialist theories were introduced by immigrant workers with experience in the British labour movement. Their ideas were not widely accepted, however. The
Liberal Government of New Zealand
The Liberal Government of New Zealand was the first responsible government in New Zealand politics organised along party lines. The government formed following the founding of the Liberal Party and took office on 24 January 1891, and governed N ...
that was dominant 1891–1912 rejected socialism but it supported unions, and the government built the foundations of the
country's welfare state in the 1890s and fought the large landholders. Milburn argues that governmental activism cannot be attributed to the influence of the small socialist movement.
Unions and workers' parties
![Harry Holland (1925)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Harry_Holland_%281925%29.jpg)
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 union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
s. During the 1870s, James McPherson and his Canterbury Working Men's Mutual Protection Society had written to
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
, requesting affiliation with the
First International
The International Workingmen's Association (IWA), often called the First International (1864–1876), was an international organisation which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, communist and anarchist groups and trad ...
. The
New Zealand Federation of Labour
The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU or CTU; mi, Te Kauae Kaimahi) is a national trade union centre in New Zealand. The NZCTU represents 360,000 workers, and is the largest democratic organisation in New Zealand.
History
It was form ...
(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 the ''
Maoriland Worker
The ''Maoriland Worker'', later called ''The Standard'', was a leading New Zealand labour journal of the early 20th century.
It was launched in 1910 by the Shearers' Union and was initially published monthly (Frank Langstone was involved). The ne ...
'', which advocated militant unionism and socialism. Key Red Federation leaders included the
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n–born Hickey and
Paddy Webb
Patrick Charles Webb (30 November 1884 – 23 March 1950) was a New Zealand trade unionist and politician.
Early life
Webb was born in Rutherglen, a small town in the Australian state of Victoria. His father, George Webb, was a miner, and P ...
, and fellow Australian
Bob Semple
Robert Semple (21 October 1873 – 31 January 1955) was a union leader and later Minister of Public Works for the first Labour Government of New Zealand. He is also known for creating the Bob Semple tank.
Early life
He was born in Sofala, New ...
. In opposition to the Red Federation, mainstream trade and labour councils formed a rival
Federation of Labour.
The arrival of 200 British socialists called the "Clarion Settlers" led to the formation of the
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 neverthe ...
in 1901, which promoted the works of Marx and
Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels ( ,["Engels"](_blank)
'' Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...
, 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." 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.
In the years leading up to the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, several New Zealand and Australian socialists including
Harry Holland
Henry Edmund Holland (10 June 1868 – 8 October 1933) was an Australian-born newspaper owner, politician and unionist who relocated to New Zealand. He was the second leader of the New Zealand Labour Party.
Early life
Holland was born at G ...
,
Michael Joseph Savage
Michael Joseph Savage (23 March 1872 – 27 March 1940) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of New Zealand, heading the First Labour Government from 1935 until his death in 1940.
Savage was born in the Colon ...
,
Peter Fraser
Peter Fraser (; 28 August 1884 – 12 December 1950) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 24th prime minister of New Zealand from 27 March 1940 until 13 December 1949. Considered a major figure in the history of the New Zealand La ...
,
Harry Scott Bennett
Harry Scott Bennett (1 June 1877 – 24 May 1959), originally Henry Gilbert Scott Bennett, was an Australian socialist speaker and organiser. He was born in Chilwell, Victoria and died in Sydney.
He was MLA for Ballarat West, Victoria for the ...
,
Tom Barker,
Tom Bloodworth
Thomas Bloodworth (10 February 1882 – 11 May 1974) was a New Zealand politician. He was a Member of the Legislative Council and its last Chairman of Committees.
Political career
Born in Maxey, Northamptonshire in 1882, Bloodworth was a me ...
, and
Bob Semple
Robert Semple (21 October 1873 – 31 January 1955) was a union leader and later Minister of Public Works for the first Labour Government of New Zealand. He is also known for creating the Bob Semple tank.
Early life
He was born in Sofala, New ...
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 including
Henry George
Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American political economist and journalist. His writing was immensely popular in 19th-century America and sparked several reform movements of the Progressive Era. He inspired the eco ...
,
Edward Bellamy
Edward Bellamy (March 26, 1850 – May 22, 1898) was an American author, journalist, and political activist most famous for his utopian novel ''Looking Backward''. Bellamy's vision of a harmonious future world inspired the formation of numerou ...
,
Georges Sorel
Georges Eugène Sorel (; ; 2 November 1847 – 29 August 1922) was a French social thinker, political theorist, historian, and later journalist. He has inspired theories and movements grouped under the name of Sorelianism. His social and ...
,
August Bebel,
Eugene Debs
Eugene may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the sin ...
,
Bill Haywood
William Dudley "Big Bill" Haywood (February 4, 1869 – May 18, 1928) was an American labor organizer and founding member and leader of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and a member of the executive committee of the Socialist Party of A ...
, and
Irving Fisher. In 1912, a Petone Marxian Club was formed and met every Monday. This was one of the forerunners to the
New Zealand Marxian Association.
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
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
, where a number of prominent left-wing politicians (such as
Frederick Pirani
Frederick Pirani (3 December 1858 – 26 October 1926) 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 ...
) 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
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
in the
1908 election. Later, in 1910, the IPLL was reformed as the
Labour Party (not to be confused with the modern party).
Emergence of the Labour 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
William Ferguson Massey (26 March 1856 – 10 May 1925), commonly known as Bill Massey, was a politician who served as the 19th prime minister of New Zealand from May 1912 to May 1925. He was the founding leader of the Reform Party, New Zea ...
's "heavy-handed" suppression of the
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. It resulted in one strik ...
prompted another attempt at unity in 1913. This time, the Socialists were willing to attend. A new group, the
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
Fo ...
, 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 election, 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 Zealand Labour Party ( mi, Rōpū Reipa o Aotearoa), or simply Labour (), is a centre-left political party in New Zealand. The party's platform programme describes its founding principle as democratic socialism, while observers descr ...
. The new Labour Party was explicitly socialist, and was based around goals of redistribution of wealth, nationalization of industry, and elimination of conscription.
Eventual Labour Party leader,
Harry Holland
Henry Edmund Holland (10 June 1868 – 8 October 1933) was an Australian-born newspaper owner, politician and unionist who relocated to New Zealand. He was the second leader of the New Zealand Labour Party.
Early life
Holland was born at G ...
, 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 the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
and the
Reform Party until the replacement of Holland with
Michael Joseph Savage
Michael Joseph Savage (23 March 1872 – 27 March 1940) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of New Zealand, heading the First Labour Government from 1935 until his death in 1940.
Savage was born in the Colon ...
. Savage, although also involved in the earlier Socialist Party, was more moderate than Holland, and Labour gained considerable support. Assisted by the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, Labour won a decisive victory in the
1935 election.
Labour's social democracy
Despite its socialist roots, the Labour Party shifted towards a more
social democratic orientation once in power. The
First Labour Government led by Savage and Peter Fraser implemented a range of socialist policies such as nationalising industry, broadcasting, transportation, and a
Keynesian
Keynesian economics ( ; sometimes Keynesianism, named after British economist John Maynard Keynes) are the various macroeconomic theories and models of how aggregate demand (total spending in the economy) strongly influences economic output an ...
welfare state. However, the party did not seek to abolish capitalism, instead opting for a
mixed economy
A mixed economy is variously defined as an economic system blending elements of a market economy with elements of a planned economy, markets with state interventionism, or private enterprise with public enterprise. Common to all mixed economi ...
. Labour's welfare state and mixed economy were not challenged until the 1980s.
![John Alexander Lee](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/John_Alexander_Lee.jpg)
Two years after the Labour Party lost the
1949 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 politician
John A. Lee
John Alfred Alexander Lee (31 October 1891 – 13 June 1982) was a New Zealand politician and writer. He is one of the more prominent avowed socialism in New Zealand, socialists in New Zealand's political history.
Lee was elected as a me ...
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.
During the 1980s, the
Fourth Labour Government
The Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand governed New Zealand from 26 July 1984 to 2 November 1990. It was the first Labour government to win a second consecutive term since the First Labour Government of 1935 to 1949. The policy agenda o ...
under Prime Minister
David Lange
David Russell Lange ( ; 4 August 1942 – 13 August 2005) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 32nd prime minister of New Zealand from 1984 to 1989.
Lange was born and brought up in Otahuhu, the son of a medical doctor. He became ...
and
Finance Minister
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
Roger Douglas
Sir Roger Owen Douglas (born 5 December 1937) is a retired New Zealand politician who served as a minister in two Labour governments. He became arguably best known for his prominent role in New Zealand's radical economic restructuring in the 19 ...
implemented several
neoliberal economic reforms known as
Rogernomics
In February 1985, journalists at the '' New Zealand Listener'' coined the term Rogernomics, a portmanteau of "Roger" and "economics" (by analogy with "Reaganomics"), to describe the neoliberal economic policies followed by Roger Douglas. Dougl ...
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 join
Jim Anderton
James Patrick Anderton (born Byrne; 21 January 1938 – 7 January 2018) was a New Zealand politician who led a succession of left-wing parties after leaving the Labour Party in 1989.
Anderton's political career began when he was elected to th ...
's
NewLabour Party
The NewLabour Party was a centre-left political party in New Zealand that operated from 1989 to 2000. It was founded by Jim Anderton, an member of parliament (MP) and former president of the New Zealand Labour Party.
NewLabour was established b ...
,
Greens,
New Zealand Democratic Party for Social Credit
The New Zealand Social Credit Party (sometimes called "Socred") is a political party which served as the country's third party from the 1950s through into the 1980s. The party held a number of seats in the New Zealand House of Representatives ...
, and the
Mana Motuhake parties under the
Alliance
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
. Successive Labour governments have promoted centre-left social and economic policies while preserving a free market economy. The Prime Minister
Jacinda Ardern
Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern ( ; born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician who has been serving as the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and leader of the Labour Party since 2017. A member of the Labour Party, she has been the member of ...
identifies as a social democrat and formerly served as President of the
International Union of Socialist Youth.
Rise of the Communist Party
![CPNZ logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/CPNZ_logo.jpg)
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. The Marxian Association was inspired by the
Socialist Party of Great Britain
The Socialist Party of Great Britain (SPGB) is a socialist political party in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1904 as a split from the Social Democratic Federation (SDF), it advocates using the ballot box for revolutionary purposes and oppo ...
(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 the
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...
departed to form the
Communist Party of New Zealand
The Communist Party of New Zealand (CPNZ) was a communist party in New Zealand which existed from 1921 to 1994. Although spurred to life by events in Soviet Russia in the aftermath of World War I, the party had roots in pre-existing revolutiona ...
(CPNZ). They were joined by two other revolutionary strands within the New Zealand Socialist Party: the
De Lonites who espoused revolutionary politics and industrial unionism; and the
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines general ...
(IWW)-
syndicalist
Syndicalism is a revolutionary current within the left-wing of the labor movement that seeks to unionize workers according to industry and advance their demands through strikes with the eventual goal of gaining control over the means of pr ...
tradition who advocated direct action and spurned political activity.
In 1930, however, former members of the Marxian Association (backed by members of the
Socialist Party of Australia (WSM)) established the
Socialist Party of New Zealand (distinct from the earlier
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 neverthe ...
). 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).
Meanwhile, the CPNZ built its support from miners in the
South Island
The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...
's
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to:
Geography Australia
* Western Australia
*Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia
* West Coast, Tasmania
**West Coast Range, mountain range in the region
Canada
* Britis ...
and
Huntly
Huntly ( gd, Srath Bhalgaidh or ''Hunndaidh'') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly known as Milton of Strathbogie or simply Strathbogie. It had a population of 4,460 in 2004 and is the site of Huntly Castle. Its neighbouring settlement ...
in the
North Island
The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...
's
Waikato
Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...
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 the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
"Hymn of the Bolshevik Party"
, headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow
, general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last)
, founded =
, banned =
, founder = Vladimir Lenin
, newspaper ...
(CPSU). The Soviets also sought to guide international Communist parties through the
Third International
The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to "struggle by a ...
or Comintern. In addition, the CPNZ also maintained close ties with the
Communist Party of Australia
The Communist Party of Australia (CPA), known as the Australian Communist Party (ACP) from 1944 to 1951, was an Australian political party founded in 1920. The party existed until roughly 1991, with its membership and influence having been i ...
(CPA) and supported
Maori rights and the
Mau movement
The Mau was a non-violent movement for Samoan independence from colonial rule during the first half of the 20th century. ''Mau'' means ‘resolute’ or ‘resolved’ in the sense of ‘opinion’, ‘unwavering’, ‘to be decided’, or ...
in
Western Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...
.
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 and
social democratic parties over control of the trade unions and unemployed workers' movements during the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. Both communists and social democrats however did work together during the 1930s to combat
fascism
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...
.
Communist offshoots
![Ken Douglas (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Ken_Douglas_%28cropped%29.jpg)
When the
Sino-Soviet split
The Sino-Soviet split was the breaking of political relations between the China, People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union caused by Doctrine, doctrinal divergences that arose from their different interpretations and practical applications ...
occurred in the 1960s, the CPNZ was sharply divided between supporters of the Soviet Union (led by the "revisionist"
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...
) and supporters of China (led by the radical
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
). Eventually, the
Maoists
Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Chi ...
led by
Vic Wilcox
Victor George Wilcox (6 November 1912 – 29 April 1989) was a New Zealand farmer and trade unionist who was secretary-general of the Communist Party of New Zealand.
Biography Early life
Wilcox was born in Willesden, London, England on 6 Novembe ...
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 the ''People's Voice''.
The expelled members led by
Ken Douglas
Kenneth George Douglas (15 November 1935 – 14 September 2022) was a New Zealand trade union leader.
Early life
Douglas was born in Wellington in 1935. His parents were Marjorie "Maj" Alice ( Farrow) and John Atholwood "Atty" Douglas. He wa ...
and
George Harold (Bill) Andersen eventually established the
Socialist Unity Party (SUP). The SUP supported the CPSU and Soviet Union until the collapse of the USSR in 1991, defending the
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia refers to the events of 20–21 August 1968, when the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Rep ...
in 1968, the suppression of the
1982 Solidarity demonstrations in Poland, and the
Soviet–Afghan War
The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Soviet ...
. 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 called ''NZ Tribune''. The Socialist Unity party eventually suffered its own split, with some members departing to found the modern
Socialist Party of Aotearoa
The Socialist Party of Aotearoa was a minor political party in New Zealand. It was formed in 1990Andersen, G. H. (1990). ''The 1990 general elections and beyond.'' Auckland: Socialist Party of Aotearoa. through a split in the Socialist Unity Pa ...
.
In 1969, a group called the Socialist Action League (now the
Communist League) was established. The League emerged from student protests against the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
and was influenced by the theories of
Leon Trotsky
Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...
,
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
, and
Che Guevera. The League took an interest in Communist movements in
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
,
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
, and the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. Its newspaper was called ''Socialist Action''. The League has proven to be one of the more durable parties and contested the
2017 Mount Albert by-election.
Green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...
Member of Parliament
Keith Locke was once involved in the Socialist Action League.
After Mao's death, the CPNZ under the leadership if Richard Wolf and Harold Crook rejected the reforms introduced by
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CC ...
. Instead, they followed
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
, which was led by
Enver Hoxha's
Party of Labour of Albania
The Party of Labour of Albania ( sq, Partia e Punës e Shqipërisë, PPSh), sometimes referred to as the Albanian Workers' Party (AWP), was the ruling and sole legal party of Albania during the communist period (1945–1991). It was founded o ...
. 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 the
Workers' Communist League, whose newspaper was called ''Unity''.
During the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, 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 the
anti-Springbok tour protests
The 1981 South African rugby tour (known in New Zealand as the Springbok Tour, and in South Africa as the Rebel Tour) polarised opinions and inspired widespread protests across New Zealand. The controversy also extended to the United States, wh ...
, the
Māori biculturalism, and the
anti-nuclear movement
The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, natio ...
.
Following the collapse of Albanian communism, the CPNZ adopted the
Trotskyism
Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a ...
it had once harshly condemned, and merged with a newer group known as the
International Socialist Organization
The International Socialist Organization (ISO) was a Trotskyist group active primarily on college campuses in the United States that was founded in 1976 and dissolved in 2019. The organization held Leninist positions on imperialism and the role ...
. 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 (SWO) as a continuation of the old Communist Party. The SWO, known then as Socialist Worker, voted to dissolve itself in January 2012.
Other groups continue to promote socialism as well. In the
2002 election, four candidates were put forward an umbrella group (known as the
Anti-Capitalist Alliance
The Workers Party of New Zealand (previously known as the Anti-Capitalist Alliance) was a socialist political party in New Zealand. It published a monthly magazine called "The Spark". In February 2013 the party was transformed from a "mass work ...
) consisting of the
Workers Party of New Zealand, the
Revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
group, and other left-wing activists. The International Socialist Organization is also active at some universities.
New Left variations
![Sue Bradford](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Sue_Bradford.jpg)
The
New 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, and
National
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
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 in
Third World
The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...
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 the
counter-culture
A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...
movement,
Christian pacifism
Christian pacifism is the theological and ethical position according to which pacifism and non-violence have both a scriptural and rational basis for Christians, and affirms that any form of violence is incompatible with the Christian faith. Chri ...
,
anarchism
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessa ...
, neo-
Leninism, and libertarian forms of
Marxism
Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
. 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.
New Left groups championed several causes included opposition to
racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
, the
nuclear arms race
The nuclear arms race was an arms race competition for supremacy in nuclear warfare between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their respective allies during the Cold War. During this same period, in addition to the American and Soviet nuc ...
, and the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
. Key New Left organisations in New Zealand were the anti-
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
Halt All Racist Tours
Halt All Racist Tours (HART) was a protest group set up in New Zealand in 1969 to protest against rugby union tours to and from South Africa. Founding member Trevor Richards served as president for its first 10 years, with fellow founding member ...
(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 Zealand
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuc ...
(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.
During the 1960s and 1970s, the New Left reached its heyday. HART, the PYM, and Resistance bookshops were joined by other groups including the
Auckland University
The University of Auckland is a public university, public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest, most comprehensive and highest-ranked university in New Zealand and consistently places among the top 100 universit ...
Society for the Active Prevention of Cruelty to Politically Apathetic Humans (AUSAPOCHPAH), the Auckland-based Friends of Brutus, the New Left Club at
Massey University
Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural or ...
, the
Victoria University Socialist Club, the Anarchist Congress in Wellington, the Radical Student's Alliance at the
University of Canterbury
The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...
, the
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
-based Anarchist Commune, the
University of Otago
, image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg
, image_size =
, caption = University clock tower
, motto = la, Sapere aude
, mottoeng = Dare to be wise
, established = 1869; 152 years ago
, type = Public research collegiate u ...
's Progressive Left Club, and the
Dunedin
Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...
Anarchist Army. The activist, scholar, and
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
Member of Parliament
Sue Bradford
Sue Bradford (born 1 July 1952 in Auckland) is a New Zealand activist, academic, and former New Zealand politician who served as a list Member of Parliament representing the Green Party from 1999 to 2009.
Bradford is an eco-socialist. In 2019, s ...
was involved in the Auckland PYM and the Auckland Resistance bookshop.
Following the election of the
Third Labour Government in 1972, the new government delivered many of the New Left's demands including withdrawing New Zealand troops from Vietnam in 1972; ending
compulsory 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.
During the early to mid 1970s, some New Left elements like the Christchurch PYM became influenced by the
Maoist
Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...
Communist Party. One New Left group that emerged in 1974 was Murray Horton and
Owen Wilkes
Owen Ronald Wilkes (1940 – 12 May 2005) was a peace campaigner and the founder of the Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa and the Anti-Bases Campaign, who was given a suspended prison sentence for espionage in Norway (the Wilkes/Gledi ...
'
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 including
Tama Poata
Tama may mean:
Languages
* Tama language, the language of the Sudanese Tama people
* Tama languages, a language family of northern Papua New Guinea
Music
* Tama Drums, a Japanese brand manufactured by Hoshino Gakki
* Tama (percussion), a type of ...
's Māori Organisation on Human Rights (MOOHR), the
Black Panthers–inspired
Polynesian Panthers
The Polynesian Panther Party (PPP) was a revolutionary social justice movement formed to target racial inequalities carried out against indigenous Māori and Pacific Islanders in Auckland, New Zealand. Founded by a group of young Polynesians on 16 ...
, 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 to
American imperialism
American imperialism refers to the expansion of American political, economic, cultural, and media influence beyond the boundaries of the United States. Depending on the commentator, it may include imperialism through outright military conques ...
and uncritical praise for Communist states and figures like
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
,
Ho Chi Minh
(: ; born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), commonly known as ('Uncle Hồ'), also known as ('President Hồ'), (' Old father of the people') and by other aliases, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman. He served as Prime ...
, and
Che Guevara
Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...
as two key defining features of the later New Left activists and groups.
Left-wing alternative media
![Trotter, Chris (Alliance)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Trotter%2C_Chris_%28Alliance%29.jpg)
During the early 20th century, the emergence of working-class consciousness led to the formation of several left-wing newspapers including ''The Maoriland Worker'' (1910–1924), ''The Weekly Herald'', ''The Transport Worker'', and ''The 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.
The ''Maoriland Worker'' later revamped itself as the ''New Zealand Worker'' (1924–1935) and as the Labour Party's affiliated newspaper ''The Standard'' (1935–1959). While it was sympathetic to the Labour Party, the ''Maoriland Worker'' was a largely radical socialist publication that was independent of the Labour Party. The various Communist parties also published their own newspapers. The CPNZ's official organ was the ''People's Voice'' (1939–1991), which reached a peak of 14,000 copies in 1945. The Socialist Unity Party's newspapers were the ''Tribune'' (1966–1995), ''Socialist Worker'' (1994–2005), ''The Spark'' (1991–2013), and ''Socialist Review'' (1997–present), and ''The Spark'' successor ''Fightback'' (2013–present). The Socialist Action League's newspaper was ''Socialist Action'' (1969–1998), which reached a peak of 8,400 copies during the
1978 general election. The Workers' Communist League's newspaper was called ''Unity'' (1978–1990).
Several notable independent socialist magazines and newspapers in New Zealand have included the ''New Zealand Monthly Review'' (''NZMR'', 1960–1996), ''The Republican'' (1974–1996), ''Race Gender Class'' (1985–1992), left-wing journalist
Chris Trotter
Christopher Marshall Trotter (born 1956) is a political commentator in New Zealand. He is the editor of the occasional '' Political Review'' magazine.
Biography
Chris Trotter has worked for unions and was on the New Zealand Council (the nationa ...
's social democratic ''New Zealand Political Review'' (''NZPR'', 1992–2005), the feminist ''Broadsheet'' (1972–1997), the Peace Movement Aotearoa's ''Peacelink'', the queer feminist ''Bitches, Witches and Dykes'', the anti-apartheid ''HART News'', ''CARP Newsletter'', ''Foreign Control Watchdog'', and ''Peace Researcher''. Other independent left-wing publications have included the Marxist Publishing Group's ''Red Papers'' (1976–1979), ''The Paper'' (1973–1975), and the Victoria University Socialist Club's ''Red Spark'' (1969–1970).
Contemporary socialist parties, groups, and media in New Zealand
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.
Modern parties and organizations
*
Communist League - a
Trotskyist
Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...
group established in 1969 as the "Socialist Action League". It has links to the
Socialist Workers Party of the US. The Communist League had two candidates in the
2002 election, but neither won their respective races. The League also stood candidates in the 2010 Auckland council election.
*Communist Party of Aotearoa (2019) - a
democratic socialist
Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within ...
group based in Wellington with smaller branches around the country. Operates the Workers' Star newspaper and website. The main outlets of party work are the Hospo Workers Union and the Aotearoa Community Union. Originally known as the New Communist Party of Aotearoa.
*Communist Workers' Group - a
Trotskyist
Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...
group. It was established in 1995 as a splinter group from the Workers' Power organization. It is associated with the global
alliance, which itself was a split from the global alliance that Workers' Power belonged to. Their website is redrave.blogspot.co.nz.
* Fightback - formerly the Workers Party, which was previously the Anti-Capitalist Alliance. Branches in Wellington and Auckland and a monthly publication. Some members have worked as organisers for Unite Union. Fightback publishes a monthly magazine by the same name.
*
International Socialist Organization
The International Socialist Organization (ISO) was a Trotskyist group active primarily on college campuses in the United States that was founded in 1976 and dissolved in 2019. The organization held Leninist positions on imperialism and the role ...
- a revolutionary
Trotskyist
Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...
group that is particularly active in universities. It briefly attempted to merge with the remnants of the
Communist Party of New Zealand
The Communist Party of New Zealand (CPNZ) was a communist party in New Zealand which existed from 1921 to 1994. Although spurred to life by events in Soviet Russia in the aftermath of World War I, the party had roots in pre-existing revolutiona ...
, forming the
Socialist Workers Organization. However, the majority of the group eventually rejected this decision and reestablished their own party but were now outside of the
International Socialist Tendency
The International Socialist Tendency (IST) is an international grouping of unorthodox Trotskyist organisations espousing the ideas of Tony Cliff (1917–2000), founder of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) in Britain (not to be confused with ...
. The ISO has fraternal relations with Socialist Alternative, in Australia, and the International Socialist Organisation, US. Branches in Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin. Bi-monthly magazine called Socialist Review.
*
Organise Aotearoa – a revolutionary socialist group formed in 2016 and widely publicised in October 2018. Shortly after its public announcement, the organisation engaged in a series of
direct action
Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to oth ...
campaigns, including joining the blockade of New Zealand Defence Industry Association forums,
occupying the
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian embassy after the inauguration of
Jair Bolsonaro,
occupying the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
consulate in Auckland during the
2019 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, and joining the occupation of
Ihumātao
Ihumātao is an archeological site of historic importance in the suburb of Māngere, Auckland. Once a pā site, it stands on the Ihumātao Peninsula, at the base of Ōtuataua, part of the Auckland volcanic field. Its scoria cone reaches above ...
. The group has also organised broader mobilisations such as the 2018 protests agitating for
abortion reform. As of June 2019, the organisation claims a membership of 272 active members. Branches in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, and Dunedin.
*
Permanent Revolution Group - a
Trotskyist
Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...
group established as a breakaway from the
Spartacist League (which later became the Workers' Power organization). It is associated with the International Bolshevik Tendency.
*
Socialist Aotearoa - an
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
-based group formed in May 2008 which split from
Socialist Worker (Aotearoa)
Socialist Worker (SW) was a socialist organisation based in New Zealand (Aotearoa).
Socialist Worker began to grow modestly through work done in workers' organisations such as the Solidarity Union, Unite Union, the Climate Change Coalition ...
over disagreement with the organization's participation in the
Residents Action Movement
The Residents Action Movement (or RAM) was a political party in New Zealand. RAM described itself as "a mass membership, broad left, grassroots movement of social change". Its national chair was Grant Morgan and its co-leaders were Oliver Woods ...
electoral coalition. The group has an eclectic mix of Trotskyists, anarchists, ecosocialists and various other ideologies in its ranks. Members are active in Unite Union, with one member, Joe Carolan, a senior organiser in that union.
*
Socialist Voice
''Socialist Voice'' is the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Ireland (CPI). The paper is published monthly and is also available online. It provides an analysis of political events as well as including historic pieces, book and fil ...
- a
Trotskyist
Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...
group established in 2002. It is associated with the
Committee for a Workers' International
The Committee for a Workers' International (CWI) was an international association of Trotskyist political parties. Today, two groups claim to be the continuation of the CWI.
History Founding
The origins of the CWI can be traced to a group of ...
, and is therefore linked to the
Socialist Party of England and Wales.
*
Socialist Party of Aotearoa
The Socialist Party of Aotearoa was a minor political party in New Zealand. It was formed in 1990Andersen, G. H. (1990). ''The 1990 general elections and beyond.'' Auckland: Socialist Party of Aotearoa. through a split in the Socialist Unity Pa ...
- a Marxist-Leninist group. It was founded in 1990 as a split from the
Socialist Unity Party, which was itself a split from the
Communist Party of New Zealand
The Communist Party of New Zealand (CPNZ) was a communist party in New Zealand which existed from 1921 to 1994. Although spurred to life by events in Soviet Russia in the aftermath of World War I, the party had roots in pre-existing revolutiona ...
.
*
Communist Party of Aotearoa - A Marxist-Leninist party founded in 2018 in Auckaland. The party seeks to establish Socialism and create a sustainable environment.
Defunct parties and organizations
*
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 neverthe ...
(1901-1913) - an organization established in 1901. Not to be confused with the Socialist Party of New Zealand, a completely separate organization which is now known as the
World Socialist Party.
*
Communist Party of New Zealand
The Communist Party of New Zealand (CPNZ) was a communist party in New Zealand which existed from 1921 to 1994. Although spurred to life by events in Soviet Russia in the aftermath of World War I, the party had roots in pre-existing revolutiona ...
(1921-1994) - an old communist group that initially gained a modest measure of success, but which later declined. The party became attached to
Stalinism
Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory ...
, and when the
Sino-Soviet split
The Sino-Soviet split was the breaking of political relations between the China, People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union caused by Doctrine, doctrinal divergences that arose from their different interpretations and practical applications ...
occurred, the party adopted
Maoism
Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...
. Later, after
Mao's death, it followed
Enver Hoxha, leader of
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
(which they considered to be the last bastion of true communism). After the fall of Albania, the party renounced all these ideologies and adopted
Trotskyism
Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a ...
. The party then attempted a merger with the
International Socialist Organization
The International Socialist Organization (ISO) was a Trotskyist group active primarily on college campuses in the United States that was founded in 1976 and dissolved in 2019. The organization held Leninist positions on imperialism and the role ...
, creating the
Socialist Workers Organization. Most of the International Socialists eventually withdrew from this coalition, leaving the new Socialist Workers Organization dominated by the former Communist Party.
*
World Socialist Party (1930-??) - a group based primarily around opposition to
Leninism. 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 Movement
The World Socialist Movement (WSM) is an international organisation of socialist parties created in 1904 with the founding of the Socialist Party of Great Britain (SPGB).
The member parties share a common classical Marxist worldview and an adh ...
.
*
Socialist Unity Party (1966-1990) - 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 Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
'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 Worker (Aotearoa)
Socialist Worker (SW) was a socialist organisation based in New Zealand (Aotearoa).
Socialist Worker began to grow modestly through work done in workers' organisations such as the Solidarity Union, Unite Union, the Climate Change Coalition ...
(?-2012). A revolutionary socialist group aligned with the International Socialist Tendency. Formerly known as the Socialist Workers Organisation, the final conference of SW voted to dissolve itself at its conference in January 2012.
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Workers Party of New Zealand (2002-2013) - 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 left
In the United Kingdom, the hard left are the left-wing political movements and ideas outside the mainstream centre-left.*
*
Term
The term was first used in the context of debates within both the Labour Party and the broader left in the 1980 ...
political party under
mixed-member proportional
Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP or MMPR) is a mixed electoral system in which votes cast are considered in local elections and also to determine overall party vote tallies, which are used to allocate additional members to produce ...
(MMP) representation.
* Black Cat
BlackCat Anarchist Collective - an
anarcho-communist
Anarcho-communism, also known as anarchist communism, (or, colloquially, ''ancom'' or ''ancomm'') is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that advocates communism. It calls for the abolition of private property but retains resp ...
group based in the city of
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
.
* Communist Party of Aotearoa - a
Maoist
Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...
group that split from the
Communist Party of New Zealand
The Communist Party of New Zealand (CPNZ) was a communist party in New Zealand which existed from 1921 to 1994. Although spurred to life by events in Soviet Russia in the aftermath of World War I, the party had roots in pre-existing revolutiona ...
in 1993, condemning that organization's abandonment of Maoism and adoption of
Trotskyism
Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a ...
.
* Revolutionary Communist League of New Zealand founded in 1984 by students and lecturers at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch. It was a revolutionary Marxist group affiliated with the
United Secretariat of the Fourth International
The Fourth International (FI), founded in 1938, is a Trotskyist international. In 1963, following a ten-year schism, the majorities of the two public factions of the Fourth International, the International Secretariat and the International Com ...
. After a few conferences, intending to rally opposition to
Rogernomics
In February 1985, journalists at the '' New Zealand Listener'' coined the term Rogernomics, a portmanteau of "Roger" and "economics" (by analogy with "Reaganomics"), to describe the neoliberal economic policies followed by Roger Douglas. Dougl ...
, RCLNZ organized a larger nationwide grouping called Socialist Alliance which stood a candidate in the 1987 general election. The RCLNZ was transformed into the Socialist Workers' Project in 1990, based in the ChCh Centre for Socialist Education.
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New Zealand Marxian Association - a group established in 1918. It was founded to give endorsement and support to "Marxian Revolutionist" candidates in general elections.
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Organisation for Marxist Unity - a
Maoist
Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...
group.
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Revolutionary Workers League - a merger of the pro-
Mao,
Marxist-Leninist Workers' Party of New Zealand and the
Revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
group. A tendency within the modern
Workers' Party of New Zealand.
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Socialist Workers Organization - a revolutionary
Trotskyist
Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...
party. It was established by the
Communist Party of New Zealand
The Communist Party of New Zealand (CPNZ) was a communist party in New Zealand which existed from 1921 to 1994. Although spurred to life by events in Soviet Russia in the aftermath of World War I, the party had roots in pre-existing revolutiona ...
and the
International Socialist Organization
The International Socialist Organization (ISO) was a Trotskyist group active primarily on college campuses in the United States that was founded in 1976 and dissolved in 2019. The organization held Leninist positions on imperialism and the role ...
, although the majority of the latter group eventually withdrew from the merger. It was linked to the
International Socialist Tendency
The International Socialist Tendency (IST) is an international grouping of unorthodox Trotskyist organisations espousing the ideas of Tony Cliff (1917–2000), founder of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) in Britain (not to be confused with ...
. It evolved into the present-day
Socialist Worker (Aotearoa)
Socialist Worker (SW) was a socialist organisation based in New Zealand (Aotearoa).
Socialist Worker began to grow modestly through work done in workers' organisations such as the Solidarity Union, Unite Union, the Climate Change Coalition ...
group.
*
Workers' Party of New Zealand (pro-Mao, Marxist-Leninist) - A pro-
Mao,
Marxist-Leninist party founded by Ray Nunes, formerly a prominent member of the
Communist Party of New Zealand
The Communist Party of New Zealand (CPNZ) was a communist party in New Zealand which existed from 1921 to 1994. Although spurred to life by events in Soviet Russia in the aftermath of World War I, the party had roots in pre-existing revolutiona ...
. The party joined the
Anti-Capitalist Alliance
The Workers Party of New Zealand (previously known as the Anti-Capitalist Alliance) was a socialist political party in New Zealand. It published a monthly magazine called "The Spark". In February 2013 the party was transformed from a "mass work ...
(ACA), a radical-left electoral alliance, in 2002. The Workers' Party merged with
Revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
to become the
Revolutionary Workers' League in 2004.
* Workers' Power - a
Trotskyist
Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...
group formed in 1981 with links to the global Workers' Power entity. It later absorbed a group called the "
Communist Left
Left communism, or the communist left, is a position held by the left wing of communism, which criticises the political ideas and practices espoused by Marxist–Leninists and social democrats. Left communists assert positions which they reg ...
". It is linked to the
League for a Fifth International
The League for the Fifth International (L5I) is an international grouping of revolutionary Trotskyist organisations around a common programme and perspectives.
History
L5I was founded as the Movement for a Revolutionary Communist Internationa ...
.
Contemporary left-wing media
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–oriented ''The Daily Blog'' (2012–present), and ''The Standard''. Besides blogs, left wing alternative media have also utilised email newsletters, publishing software, and major social media platforms like
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
,
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
, and
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
.
Prominent figures in New Zealand socialism
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Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury
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Sue Bradford
Sue Bradford (born 1 July 1952 in Auckland) is a New Zealand activist, academic, and former New Zealand politician who served as a list Member of Parliament representing the Green Party from 1999 to 2009.
Bradford is an eco-socialist. In 2019, s ...
*
Peter Fraser
Peter Fraser (; 28 August 1884 – 12 December 1950) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 24th prime minister of New Zealand from 27 March 1940 until 13 December 1949. Considered a major figure in the history of the New Zealand La ...
*
Harry Holland
Henry Edmund Holland (10 June 1868 – 8 October 1933) was an Australian-born newspaper owner, politician and unionist who relocated to New Zealand. He was the second leader of the New Zealand Labour Party.
Early life
Holland was born at G ...
*
Edward Hunter (aka "Billy Banjo")
*
John A. Lee
John Alfred Alexander Lee (31 October 1891 – 13 June 1982) was a New Zealand politician and writer. He is one of the more prominent avowed socialism in New Zealand, socialists in New Zealand's political history.
Lee was elected as a me ...
*
Tama Poata
Tama may mean:
Languages
* Tama language, the language of the Sudanese Tama people
* Tama languages, a language family of northern Papua New Guinea
Music
* Tama Drums, a Japanese brand manufactured by Hoshino Gakki
* Tama (percussion), a type of ...
*
Michael Joseph Savage
Michael Joseph Savage (23 March 1872 – 27 March 1940) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of New Zealand, heading the First Labour Government from 1935 until his death in 1940.
Savage was born in the Colon ...
*
Bob Semple
Robert Semple (21 October 1873 – 31 January 1955) was a union leader and later Minister of Public Works for the first Labour Government of New Zealand. He is also known for creating the Bob Semple tank.
Early life
He was born in Sofala, New ...
*
Chris Trotter
Christopher Marshall Trotter (born 1956) is a political commentator in New Zealand. He is the editor of the occasional '' Political Review'' magazine.
Biography
Chris Trotter has worked for unions and was on the New Zealand Council (the nationa ...
*
Owen Wilkes
Owen Ronald Wilkes (1940 – 12 May 2005) was a peace campaigner and the founder of the Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa and the Anti-Bases Campaign, who was given a suspended prison sentence for espionage in Norway (the Wilkes/Gledi ...
Prominent figures in New Zealand communism
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George Harold (Bill) Andersen
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Ken Douglas
Kenneth George Douglas (15 November 1935 – 14 September 2022) was a New Zealand trade union leader.
Early life
Douglas was born in Wellington in 1935. His parents were Marjorie "Maj" Alice ( Farrow) and John Atholwood "Atty" Douglas. He wa ...
*
Vic Wilcox
Victor George Wilcox (6 November 1912 – 29 April 1989) was a New Zealand farmer and trade unionist who was secretary-general of the Communist Party of New Zealand.
Biography Early life
Wilcox was born in Willesden, London, England on 6 Novembe ...
References
Citations
Sources
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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.
{{Oceania in topic, Socialism in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...