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Political Attitudes and the Ideology of Equality: Differentiating Support for Liberal and Conservative Political Parties in New Zealand

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Political Attitudes and the Ideology of Equality: Differentiating Support for Liberal and Conservative Political Parties in New Zealand C. Sibley, M. Wilson Political Attitudes and the Ideology of Equality: Differentiating support for liberal and conservative political parties in New Zealand Chris G. Sibley University of Auckland Marc S. Wilson Victoria University of Wellington A new scale summarizing the central and core elements of a social Treaty of Waitangi, and affirmative representation of individual versus group-based entitlement to resource- action policy in the months leading allocations in New Zealand (NZ) is presented. Item content for the Equality up to the 2005 NZ general election Positioning Scale was drawn from qualitative analyses of the discourses of (Johansson, 2004; Kirkwood, Liu, & NZ’s citizens, its political elites, and the media. As hypothesized, equality Weatherall, 2005; Sibley, Robertson, positioning differentiated between Pakeha (NZ European) undergraduates & Kirkwood, 2005). Consistent with who supported liberal versus conservative political parties.People these observations, we argue that who positioned equality as group-based tended to support the Labour ideologies of equality and issues of and Green parties and those who positioned equality as meritocracy who gets what were central to the NZ tended to support the National and NZ First parties. Regression models 2005 election campaign in much the predicting political party support in the two months prior to the 2005 NZ same what that ideologies of national general election demonstrated that the effects of equality positioning security and the war on terrorism were on political party preference were unique, and were not explained by central to election campaigns in the universal (Study 1: Big-Five Personality, Social Dominance Orientation, United States (US) that occurred at Right-Wing Authoritarianism, liberalism-conservatism) or culture-specifi c; around the same time. However, as Jost Study 2: pro-Pakeha ingroup attitudes, support for the symbolic principles (2006) concluded in a recent summary, of biculturalism) indicators derived from other theoretical perspectives. although trends in the ideologies that Taken together, these fi ndings indicate that the Equality Positioning govern voting behavior and political Scale provides a valid and reliable measure that contributes to models attitudes are often commented upon of the psychological and ideological bases of voting behaviour in NZ. anecdotally, systematic quantitative Moreover, our fi ndings suggest that the positioning of equality provided research validating such observations an axis of meaning that aided in the creation and mobilization of public remains limited. This is particularly true opinion regarding resource-allocations, land claims, affi rmative action of the NZ context. programs, and a host of other material issues in the months leading up The present research addresses this to the 2005 NZ election. lacuna and explores the impact of the ideological positioning of equality on the political party preferences of the here has been considerable On the other hand, some definitions majority ethnic group in NZ (Pakeha, or political debate regarding issues emphasize that equality should consider NZ Europeans1) in the months leading Tof who gets what in contemporary group differences, whereby it may be up to the 2005 NZ general election. New Zealand (NZ) society. Such debate necessary to allocate resources on the In order to examine this issue, we is often characterized by an underlying basis of group membership in order present a new measure of individual tension between contrasting ideologies to reduce categorical disadvantages differences in value framing, which of equality. On the one hand, some experienced by some groups within we term Equality Positioning. The defi nitions prescribe that equality should society. Equality Positioning Scale is intended be based on principles of meritocracy As various commentators have to summarize the central and core that emphasize the individual’s freedom suggested, the positioning of equality elements of an ideology of equality and to pursue economic self-interest and the provided a central axis that organized entitlement and is developed for use right to have their worth determined much of the political debate regarding in the NZ socio-political environment based solely upon their individual merit. tax cuts, the role and function of the specifi cally. The items contained in the • 72 • New Zealand Journal of Psychology Vol. 36, No. 2, July 2007 Political Attitudes & Equality scale are adapted from a variety of NZ- in a close second with 39.1%. The next and a signifi cant number of mainstream specifi c sources, including both our own two highest ranking parties were the NZ (primarily Pakeha) New Zealanders, the earlier qualitative work (e.g., Sibley & First party (another conservative party) policy was dropped, and reference to Liu, 2004; Sibley, Liu, & Kirkwood, with 5.7%, and the Green Party (a liberal 'Closing the Gaps' removed from policy 2006), and the insightful and content party that focuses on environmental initiatives. rich qualitative work on race talk of issues) with 5.3% (Henry, 2005). With A common argument mobilised Nairn and McCreanor (1990, 1991), the support of a number of smaller parties by members of the opposition when Wetherell and Potter (1992) and others, (primarily the Greens), Labour formed arguing against ‘Closing the Gaps’ was as well as political speeches made in the their third consecutive government that government resources should be years preceding the 2005 NZ general – an unprecedented achievement for a allocated on the basis of need rather election (e.g., Brash, 2004). Labour party. than ethnic group membership, and We present two independent Research indicates that support for that the policy implemented by the studies that explore the reliability and the National versus the Labour party Labour government was effectively predictive validity of our measure by differs amongst middle income voters advantaging Maori over other New assessing the degree to which equality (the majority of the NZ population) Zealanders. Dr. Don Brash, the leader of positioning differentiated between because of perceived ideological the National Party at the time of the 2005 support for liberal (Labour and the differences. Support for smaller and election, mobilized similar discourses Greens) versus conservative (National more extreme parties, in contrast, tends to framing equality as meritocracy in his and NZ First) political parties in the be governed more directly by economic Nationhood speech delivered to the two months leading up to the 2005 self-interest. Analyses of a random Orewa rotary club in early 2004. Brash NZ general election. Moreover, we sample of voters conducted in 1997 (2004) argued, for example, that “We examine the degree to which equality indicated, for example, that the belief are one country with many peoples, not positioning provided unique information that people (both oneself and others) have simply a society of Pakeha and Maori predicting participant’s voting the ability to determine their economic where the minority has a birthright to the preferences that could not be explained situation (and the related implication that upper hand, as the Labour Government by (a) universal predictors of political equality is most appropriately defi ned seems to believe.” Here we see the orientation (Big-Five personality, as meritocracy) predicted increased emphasis placed on treating all people Social Dominance Orientation, Right- support for National versus Labour equally as individuals, and the related Wing Authoritarianism, self-labelled (Allen & Ng, 2000). Furthermore, just as implication that not to do so would be liberalism-conservatism), and (b) other Wilson (2004) has shown that National unjust and unfair to other individuals culture-specific constructs (pro-NZ party parliamentarians ascribe less (presumably because they do not European/Pakeha ingroup attitudes, importance to equality than their Labour have ‘a birthright to the upper hand’). support for the symbolic principles counterparts, New Zealand voters tend It is somewhat ironic however, that of biculturalism). Taken together, to show the same pattern of preferences, constructing opposition to policy by these studies provide a snapshot of with Labour party voters endorsing the arguing that it is antiegalitarian (that all the psychological and ideological general concept of equality signifi cantly New Zealanders should be treated the motives associated with political party more than National party voters (Wilson, same) is inconsistent with survey results preferences in NZ during the 2005 2005). suggesting that belief in the importance election campaign. The Labour agenda over the of equality as a general principle is actually positively correlated with Political Ideology in the New last few years has been marked by support for policies based on distributive Zealand Context an egalitarian disposition toward government spending and legislation. justice rules, such as 'Closing the Gaps' NZ, like the United States (US), holds For example, one of Labour’s high (Wilson, 2005). liberal democratic values anchored profi le policies during their term in in ideals of freedom and equality as The Ideology of Equality government in 2000 was the ‘Closing central to nationhood (Liu, 2005). NZ The above analysis of political ideology the Gaps’ policy, which focused on was the fi rst country in the world to and related discourse emphasizes that identifying and addressing areas in introduce universal suffrage, was one terms
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