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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Vol. 36, No 11 May 30th, 1973

The Hypocrisy of the Values Party

The Hypocrisy of the Values Party

Mr Turnovsky introduced another argument in favour of economic growth in the form of an attack upon the qualifications of those who advocate zero economic growth. There are people in New Zealand who can be considered poverty-stricken. However, the people who advocate zero economic growth are those who have sufficient material wealth — from which it appears that our true-blue, but environmentally aware capitalist recognises the inadequacy and hypocrisy of the Values Party. Mr Turnovsky has apparently consulted the F.O.L. on this point. According to him, Mr Skinner desires economic growth because it will increase the real incomes of his workers. This could be interpreted as yet another instance of the Muldoonist attitude to industrial relations that the F.O.L. leadership adopt from time to time: the view that trade union action should be directed solely at increasing wages, and that other aspects of workers' welfare should be either assumed to not exist, or be ignored. As I pointed out above, zero economic growth would, of necessity, outlaw profits, and this must inevitably either increase real wages or permit a reduction in the hours of work. And of course, socialism's benefits to the worker are immeasurable — working class ownership of the means of production is just one of these. And with a more equitable distribution of the wealth of society, there could be plenty for everyone. It must be remembered that such a policy is directly contrary to the interests of Mr Turnovsky as a manu-facturer, whether he is conscious of environmental issues or not.