Quotation for Today, Wednesday 16 July 2008

In Holt’s view, mushies couldn’t see any relationship between employment and the balance of payments, and thought all the unemployed could be set to work using New Zealand materials. They favoured protectin inefficient industries and big spending and were enthralled by the kind of ‘economic tripe produced by leaders of the Federation of Labour. he dubbed the 31 year old new MP for Mt Albert, Helen Clark, ‘a princess of the mushies’.

Today’s quotation is from Michael Bassett’s book Working with David, pages 72-73. Holt, is Professor James Holt, close confidant of Roger Douglas amongst others and a historian like Bassett with whom he worked and trained.

The definition is from an unpublished paper prepared in 1981 circulated to a few close friends.

“A typical mushie is of middle class origin who acquired an interest in left wing or liberal causes whilst studying history or politics or sociology at university. He or she (they are often shes) was drawn to the Labour Party because of its stand on issues such as Vietnam or the Springbok Tour, or because he wished to use the party to push such issues.Mushies are generally warm to environmentalism, feminism, ban the bomb causes, and any issue that has a high moral high ground content and a slogan that can be conveniently placed on a lapel button. They are concerned about underdogs and hostile to establishment forces in a general sort of way, though they live rather well themselves and collect fine paintings and wines along with fine values…….Their mushiness lies in their economic issues…….The are almost invariably protected from the sort of life situations that teach people about economic realities. Usually they work in the public sctor and have little fear of unemployment or of a fall in real income. Although well educated, they know nothing about economics and indeed have studiously avoided studying it.”