Notes

Contents: 1. The New Zealand Project -- 2. Winds from the north, south, west and east: global forces and frictions shaping New Zealand politics -- 3. New Zealand and the world -- 4. A new framework for economic policy -- 5. The art of what might not seem possible at the moment: on decolonisation and constitutions -- 6. Social infrastructure: health, education and housing -- 7. Justice means more than revenge -- 8. The politics of love: and the changing world of work -- 9. 'Clean and green'?: environmental politics and policy -- 10. Genders, masculinities and sexualities -- 11. People power -- 12. Taking the New Zealand Project forward.
Summary: By any measure, New Zealand must confront some monumental issues in the years ahead. From the future of work to climate change, geopolitical upheaval to housing affordability, wealth inequality to new populism these challenges are complex and even unprecedented in their scope. Yet why, as Max Harris argues in this far-sighted book, does New Zealands political thinking and discussion often seem so diminished? Do we even possess the political means and imagination to match the enormity of these issues? And why is this gap particularly apparent to young New Zealanders? In this bold and enlivening work, Harriss attempt to find answers to these questions evolves into his own New Zealand project. The book represents, from the perspective of a brilliant young New Zealander, a vision for how this country and all of its people can best overcome and prosper from the challenges ahead. It calls for a centring of values-based politics: in particular, a politics grounded in care, community, and creativity. Unashamedly idealistic, The New Zealand Project ultimately does not seek to prescribe a new future but instead kick-start a fresh and bigger conversation about how to improve the country - and the world - we all inhabit now. (Books in Print)