Copyright is owned by the Author of the thesis. Permission is given for a copy to be downloaded by an individual for the purpose of research and private study only. The thesis may not be reproduced elsewhere without the permission of the Author.

THE POLITICS OF NOSTALGIA:

THE PETTY-BOURGEOISIE AND THE EXTREME RIGHT IN NEt|l ZEALAND

A thesis presented in partialfulfilment of the requirements for the degree

of Doctor of Phi losophy atMassey University

Paul Spoonley

1 986

l1

ABSTRACT

From the early 1970s, extreme right-wing groups began toproliferate jn New Zealand and to contribute to public debate. Thesegroups represent one response to the growing pol iticisation of racjaland gender jssues, d discontent at the trends in modern capitalism anda nostalgia for the unity and certainty that is seen as epitom.isingthe immediate post-war period. Poulantzas identifies these groups asprimarily petty-bourgeois in origin and thjs class link constitutes a

central focus of thi s thesi s.

It js argued that the old or traditional petty-bourgeoisie area declining class fraction who exhibit reactionary tendencies. Thejrform of petty-commodity production, both rural and urban, isthreatened by the development of the corporate economy, exemplified bythe interventionjst state and the growing size and centralisation ofmonopoly capital. The resulting decrease in petty-bourgeois posjtjonsproduces a crisjs of confidence as the reproduction of small-scaleproduct'ion is no longer guaranteed. The marginal position of the oldpetty-bourgeo'isie is further confirmed by the absence of po'litica'linfluence. They feel unabre to halt the growing ,moral decadence, ofrecent decades because they'lack the political power of capital orlabour, or that of expanding class fractions such as the new petty-bourgeoisie. Radical right-w'ing groups are an expression of thesecl ass concerns.

The old petty-bourgeoisie have not always identified withreactionary political organisations. Their support was an importantfactor in the election of the Labour Government in 1935. But duringthe 1930s, they articulated an ideology that perceived speculat ivecapital, and Jews,as an important cause in financial decline. Thisworld-view was reproduced intact into the 19l0s. At this point, a

general economic recession emphasised the prob lems faced by petty-cornmodity production and the conLribution of thc'o1d petty-bourgeoisieto moral debates on 'race', gender and peace issues was increasinglysuperseded by post-war generations and movements. Also, the

iii

traditional party of this fraction, Soc'i al Credi t, experienced a

change in leadership in 1972 that marked a rejectjon of '1930s

arguments. Extreme right-wing groups were establ ished to articulatepetty-bourgeois concerns and to counter weak representational linkswi th conservati ve pol i t'ica1 part'ies.

The ideology and poljt'ical style of these groups is described

in detail. Case studies of the League of Rights, the Country Party

and Tax Reduction Integrity Movement/lenith Applied Philosophy are

provided, along with profiles of key activ'ists. The class base cfthese organisations is confirmed by the contrast with working class

neo-fascism and forms of conservatism such as the New Zealand Party.

An international comparison involving the United Kingdom, Austral ia

and Canada identjfies the spec'ific tendenc'ies of the New Zealand

situation.

The final section djscusses the prognosis for extreme right-wing groups jn a situatjon of crisis. The analysis centres on threequestions: (1) in order to widen jts const'ituency, are alliances withother classes or fractions possible; (2)'is mass fasc'ism a

possibility; (3) are the old petty-bourgeoisie a significant or

authentic socia'l force. The thesis concludes that extreme right-winggroups are an expression of petty-bourgeois revo'lt and they constituteone of the most important examples of reactionary politics with an

impact on contemporary socjal relations and debates.

IV

PREFACE

Some brief preparatory comments need to be made before proceeding

to the body of the text. The first concerns the generat'ion of a data

base. Throughout the thes'is, there are extensive references to

secondary sources such as newspaper items or articles. It may not be

'immediately obvious that a considerable amount of the data came from

primary sources, especially contact with members of the extreme right,intervjews with them and attendance at meet'ings. Material from these

sources has been woven into the analysis and the origin is often not

identjfied or clear. Secondly, although this thesis addresses thequestjon of the class bases of extremism in New Zealand, class'is taken

as read. There is no'intentjon of exploring class in'its own right.That was beyond the scope of this project. And finally, my personal

attitude towards the subject matter, right-wing extremism, may be

gauged indirectly from the analysis but'it'is very seldom explicit. The

extreme ri ght represents a trad'iti on that di verges j n 'its val ues and

bel'iefs from social democratjc culture, and from the liberal values ofsociology. The opposed pos'it'ions of sociologist and extreme right has

often meant that the latter have been carjcatured in socjology. By

that I mean that the complex'ity and commitment of extreme right-wingpolitics has been inaccurately portrayed. The ajm here was to convey

something of the jntricacies and rjchness of this tradition, and to

acknowledge the integrity of the people jnvolved. Ihis integrity isacknowledged by simply being accurate and not misrepresenting

ind'ividuals or events. But'tout comprendre, c'est tout pardonner' isnot my attitude. I reject total'ly the valjdity of extreme right-winginterpellations and believe them to constitute an impediment to thepractice of a liberal democratic system. Equally, however, I do not

share the'bleak pessimism' (Bottomore, 1984:37) that characterisedthe Frankfurt School on this same subject, and if soc'iology can add

anything it is to create positive options through competent analysis.

AC{N0t4/LEDGEUENJS

As with any undertaking of thjs size, others have made a major

contribution and it would simply have not been possible without theirsupport. There are four people to whom I owe a partjcular debt.

Graeme Fraser and Chris Wilkes have supervised the thesis, and have

done so w'i1Iingly and extremely competent1y in spite of othersubstantial commitments. It has been a long and at times difficultproject, and I am grateful for their col legial encouragement.

Jill Cheer has been involved in typing the material. Her sk'ill and

reactjon to aspects of the thesjs have been very valuable. And

Jennifer Crowley has l'ived with this project as much as I have, and

has been a motivator and a companion'in a way that no-one else couldhave. To these people, and to my parents, I am deeply grateful.

There are others who have provided help, adv'ice and'information, and have actually made the collection of data possible.To the following, mJ thanks: Mjchael Eanton; Paul Earcham;

Stan Barrett; Karren Beanland; Eritish Counci l; Harvey Buchman;

Graeme Coleman; Michael Danby and Austral.i a/lsrael Publ ications,Melbourne; Josh Easby; Ken Gott; HART; Wally Hirsh and the New

Zeal and Jewi sh Counci 1; Humani ties and Soc'i al Sciences Research Fund,

Massey University; Chris Husbands; Jerry Gable and Searchljght,London; 0r Jacob Gewirtz and the Board of Deputjes of British Jews,

London; Paul Gordon and the Runnymede Trust, London; Mike Hannah;

Glenys Jennings; Francesca Klug; Derrick Knight; Michael Law;

Isi Leibler; Rod Lingard; Ernest Markham; Lesley Max; Bob Mi les;Michael May and the Institute for Jewish Affairs, London;

David McLoughl in; David Pearson; Penny Poutu; Race RelationsConciljator's Office staff; Bert Roth; Gil I Sejdel; Pat Shannon:

Paul Smith; Tainui Stephens; Stephen Stratford; Toby Truel l;Victorian Jewjsh Board of Deputies, Melbourne; t,Jiener Library,London; Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Ho'locaust Studies, Los Angeles;Vernon Wr i ght.

I also have lo acknowledge that help was provided by thesubjects cf this study, members of New Zealand's extreme right.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

Acknowl edgements

Table of Contents

List of Diagrams and

List of Appendices

Li st of Abbrevi at'ions

P age

X1

xi i

1

7

9

15

t51619

23

32

39

44

45

4B

51

57

60

60

IV

vi

CHAPTER ONE:

CHAPTER TWO:

Tab I es

and Conventions

I ntroduct i on

The Politics of the Petty-Bourgeoisie:A Theoretical Argument

Fascism and the Extreme Right:A Def i ni t'ionAnalyses of the Extreme Right andFasci sm

(i(i'i

(iiiThe Authorjtarian PersonalityAl'ienation and Modern SocietyMarxi st Expl anat'ions

The Petty-Bourgeoisie

I deo I ogy

Rac'ism, National i sm and Sexi sm

Ideo'logy: A Reformul ati on

Key Elements of Petty-BourgeoisIdeology: A T.ypology

Polit'icsPol i tical Style and Social 0rganisationThe Potential for Fascism in New Zealand

The Theoretical Framework: A FormalStatement(a) The PoIitics of the 0ld Petty-

Bourgeoisie(b) The Ideology of the Extreme Right(c) The 0rganisational Structure and

Style of the Extreme Right(d) The Potential for Fascism in

New Zeal and

6162

62

CHAPTER THREE:

CHAPTER FOUR:

CHAPTER FIVE:

The Historical Precedents of Petty-Bourgeois Interpel lat'ions inNew Zea'l and, 1890-1972

Raci sm: Ideolog'ical Struggles1890s-1930s

Soc'ial Credit and the Petty-Bourgeoisie: Jacob'inism inNew Zealand PoliticsA.N. FieldConclusion

Contemporary Petty-Bourgeoi s Interpel I at'ions:Extreme Right-l,ling Groups as an Express'ionof Political Revolt

The Post-War Development of ExtremeRight-Wing Groups

The Rural Petty-Bourgeoisie and anExtreme Right-Wing Group: TheCountry Party

Cliff Emeny: A ProfileThe Urban Petty-Bourgeoisie andExtreme Right-Wing Groups(a) Zenittr Appiied Phitosophy(b) Tax Reduction Integrity Movement

Conclusion

Contemporary Petty-Bourgeois Jacobjnj sm:The New Zealand League of Rights

The Establishment of the League ofRights

The New Zealand League of Rights andSoci al Credi tSupporters of the League of Rights

fhe Activities of the League of Rights

Ideology and the New Zealand League ofRights

Anti -Semi ti sm and the League of Ri ghts

Conspiracy and the League of Rights

Eric Butler: A Profi leJoy Clapham: A Profi let,l.A. Ross: A ProfileConclusion

P age

64

69

71

ol

B3

87

91

97

102

104

107i15

124

128

132

134

140

145

151

156

159

163

169

172

1/4

CHAPTER SIX:

CHAPTER SEVEN:

CHAPTER EIGHT:

Racial Revolutionary Interpel lations:Neo-Fascism and the Working Class

Post-War Developments(a ) Natjonal Soci al i sm

Col in King-Ansel 1 : A Profi le(b) (j ) National FrontB. B. Thompson : A Profi I e(ii) New Force/Nationaljst

l,'iorkers PartyKerry Bol ton: A Profj le

(c) Christchurch Groups

Conclusion

A Comparative Analysis of Fascjst andExtreme Ri ght-Wi ng Interpe'l I ations :

Eritain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand

Bri tai n(i) National Front

( a) Ideol ogy( b) Support

(ii) Petty-Bourgeois Expressionsof R i 9ht-t,li ng Radi cal i sm

(iij) Eritish League of RightsAu stra I 'i aCanada

Conclusion

Petty-Bourgeoi s Jacob j ni sm As a Pol i t'icalForce: Potentialit'ies

The Crisis in Political and EconomicRel at i ons( a ) The State and Capi tal i sm(b) The Crisis in Representational TiesThe New RightNew Zealand and the New Riqht(a) Libertarian Right(b) Moral AuthoritariansPol i tical Representatives of theAl I i ances and Debates

Rac'ism and Anti-Semi tismThe Response of Agencies to the

Ri ght: 290

Right( a) The Medi a(b) Human Rights Commission/Race

Rel ations Conci I i ator(c) The PoliceConclusion

(A)

P age

179

183a o1tot192194199200

tult-tt

214

218

220229ZJIIJJ239

242245252

259

26s

267

268275

2814da(oJ(.J J

286

(B)(c)

296

Extreme 303

303305

307

309

CHAPTER NINE:

Appendi ces

Bi bl iography

Conclusjon: The 0ld Petty-Bourgeoisieand the Extreme R'ight

Crisis and Petty-Bourgeois Extremism

Petty-Bourgeoi s Extremi sm:0rganisations and Ideology

Compari sons

Contemporary Crises and the Prognosisfor Petty-Bourgeois Extremism

Theoretical and MethodologicalImpl i cati ons

Page

315

316

322

327

331

337

342

385

DIAG84U5

Schematic Development of Petty-Bourgeoi s

Interpel lations and Representational Ties.

2. Companies L'inked with Zenith Appf ied Ph j losophyand Tax Reduction Integrity Movement, Early 1980s'Chri stchurch.

3. Lineage and Assocjations of Neo-Fascist Groups inNew Zealand.

4. Maior Traditjons jn British Right-Wing Extremism,1923-1982.

The 8ri ti sh League of R'ights and Assoc.i ati ons0ther Extreme Right-Wing GrouPs.

Conservative and Reactionary Politjcal GroupsNew Zealand Politics, 1970s and 1980s.

4t.

P age

67

109

222

t^li rh 243

291

260

186

1n

5.

6.

791.

2.

Politjcal Support for Social Credjt, 1954-1972.

Major Ideological Concerns of Petty-BourgeoisJacobinism and Working Class Neo-Fascism in the1970s.