Post AwmRc9ZPmXmfnCpt3Y by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
 (DIR) More posts by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
 (DIR) Post #AwmRZWogtc9T1NjHjk by thomasbeagle@mastodon.nz
       2025-08-03T02:19:33Z
       
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       The right, once again surprised by the connection between "We'll remove support for the very poor" and "Why are there all these homeless people living on the street and making our cities less appealing?"If they can't manage compassion you'd think they're at least recognise self-interest, but apparently ideology trumps pragmatism.
       
 (DIR) Post #AwmRZY3GIvOwqrYR5U by apontious@dice.camp
       2025-08-03T02:57:38Z
       
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       @thomasbeagle Hell, this seems to be most of the middle-left, as well.
       
 (DIR) Post #AwmRZYrxGRx1O5Gv6O by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
       2025-08-03T03:39:35Z
       
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       @apontious> this seems to be most of the middle-leftI'm dubious about this. News media and other pop politics define "centre-left" as whatever Labour are saying this week. If you want to understand why I don't think that's scientific, consider this.1984 Labour was more like 2025 National than like 2025 Labour. While 1972 Labour was *far* to the left of 2023 Labour. Yet however much they wander around the political graph, news media continue to call them "centre-left".(1/2) @thomasbeagle
       
 (DIR) Post #AwmRZcV3lW0ueEagyG by thomasbeagle@mastodon.nz
       2025-08-03T02:36:22Z
       
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       I joke that I used to be a libertarian but then I grew up, and while it's a cheap line there's a lot of truth in it.One of the key moments for me was going on my first overseas trip in the 1990s. The sheer number of homeless living in the streets of San Francisco, one of the richest cities in one of the richest countries in the world was confronting to me. This led me to understand that while many people succeeded in our society, others did not, and we couldn't just handwave them away with a "They should have done better" because they weren't going anywhere.I still wasn't ready for the full truth but I realised that I didn't want to live in a society where people ended up homeless and starving, for purely selfish reasons if nothing else. The compassion came later.
       
 (DIR) Post #AwmRc9ZPmXmfnCpt3Y by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
       2025-08-03T03:39:45Z
       
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       @apontious> this seems to be most of the middle-leftI'm dubious about this. News media and other pop politics define "centre-left" as whatever Labour are saying this week. If you want to understand why I don't think that's scientific, consider this.1984 Labour was more like 2025 National than like 2025 Labour. While 1972 Labour was *far* to the left of 2023 Labour. Yet however much they wander around the political graph, news media continue to call them "centre-left".(1/2) @thomasbeagle
       
 (DIR) Post #AwmTIpOqkbZrdpo5cu by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
       2025-08-03T03:59:02Z
       
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       (2/2)Looking at the political compass graph for subsequent NZ elections is quite revealing;https://politicalcompass.org/nz2008https://politicalcompass.org/nz2011https://politicalcompass.org/nz2014https://politicalcompass.org/nz2017https://politicalcompass.org/nz2020https://politicalcompass.org/nz2023Labour was placed in the right half of the graph every time since they started publishing their analysis. The overall trend over that time is a drift towards the authoritarian right corner.