Abstract
This book explores the question of whether social citizenship matters less to New Zealanders in 2011 than it did in 1990 as a result of differing policy contexts found in each era. Humpage studies the retrenchment of the welfare state during two decades and compares the development in New Zealand to that in Australia and the UK. After a few pages one gets familiar with the New Zealand naming and framing, finding it easy to relate to the Nordic and European versions of the same institutions evolving in many welfare states with a similar history in building social citizenship.
Social citizenship refers to the state’s guaranteeing a basic level of economic and social security to all citizens. Humpage examines how this is expressed through a thorough analysis of four areas of policy relevant to social citizenship: employment and decent wages; social security reforms; health care, education and pensions; equality with little tax or redistribution. These themes are elaborated by extensive use of data in four chapters (4, 5, 6 and 7) devoted to the exploration of the two decades in question.
In the first chapter Humpage argues for a move from social citizenship towards active citizenship, and relates her discussion to the ongoing discourse of changes in relation to neoliberalisation. The author is driven by a desire to identify how policy design and discourse shapes public views in ways that social citizenship advocates can use to their advantage. In Chapter 2 she explores how neoliberalism challenged the institutional and normative framework that supported social citizenship in most Western countries. Traditionally welfare policies have been regarded as decommodification of needs that have guaranteed social rights. Neoliberalisation commodifies these and turns the focus from social solidarity and common interest for the well-being of all towards personal responsibility and the ability to operate in a market. The breakdown of the Keynesian settlement during the 1970s remains a turning point for welfare development.
Humpage is able to draw upon a range of sources for her analysis and, by using different age cohorts, she identifies differences between generations. Here, it is fascinating to observe changing attitudes among youth towards values that remain important to older generations. Throughout Policy Change, Public Attitudes and Social Citizenship qualitative material is also used to illustrate the statistics and this furnishes additional depth to her approach. Furthermore, she adds comparable data, derived from developments in Australia and the UK, to her discussion on New Zealand.
Humpage summarises her discussions in tables, providing readers with an overview of her analysis. Neoliberal policies are separated into three distinct phases: ‘roll-back’ (1984–1999), ‘roll-out’ (1999–2008) and ‘roll-over’ (2008–) and this gels with her line of argument throughout the book. Additionally, she relies heavily on the international discourse on welfare, workfare and neoliberal policies. In terms of sociology, her perspective is also imbued with Bourdieu’s analytical framework.
Humpage concludes that two areas seem to have ‘rolled-over’ due to neoliberal policies in New Zealand. The public interest in supporting the unemployed with a decent standard of living has significantly declined, leaving them as an ‘undeserving’ group. She also argues for a significant change in the attitude towards taxation and redistribution. Support for government responsibility for providing jobs has fluctuated during the period studied, but still appears broadly similar in 1990 and 2011. Public responsibility for decent health care, education and pensions is strongly supported by the citizens since these groups are still regarded as ‘deserving’. The notion that unions have ‘too much power’ has fluctuated, but gained support after 2008; fluctuations also are apparent in terms of how citizens regard the power of big business.
Reading Humpage’s book, I was often reminded of the recent edited volume by Harsløf and Ulmestig (2013). This engages with, and analyses, similar developments taking place throughout Northern Europe. Indeed, New Zealand appears another case in a globally encompassing process of neoliberalisation. In the Nordic countries also, public support for the unemployed has appeared to diminish; there is also antipathy toward immigrants and refugees. At the same time one finds strong support for social citizenship.
Louise Humpage’s book enhances our critical social policy insights. Grounded in careful empirical study and analysis, it illuminates the sheer complexity of neoliberalisation. Humpage also reveals that the struggle to inflect ‘common-sense’ understandings and aspirations on citizens is bound to continue.