PARTY IMAGES

New Zealand Listener, Volume 39, Issue 989, 1 August 1958, Page 11

PARTY IMAGES

Sir-On hearing Professor R. S. Milne’s talk on "Party Images and the Public Mind" I was surprised to find that Wellington Central had been the sample selected. This electorate is probably one of the worst in New Zealand to use as an unbiased sample as far as Social Credit is concerned. By reason of the continuous movement of some of the population Social Credit has been unable to form a really strong organisation in this electorate. Some very fine members have joined from this area but in very many cases they have moved to other localities. In the last election therefore this electorate was not covered at all well with literature. This inadequacy clearly reflected itself in Professor Milne’s survey. The survey showed only the detrimental images of Social Credit created by the other two movements. The images, for example, that the policy was "intangible" or "airyfairy." : The survey did. not show the favourable images for Social Credit and some of the Wellington Central members have been asked to say what favourable images they have of the policy. There are two main images: the first and most important favourable image of Social Credit is a debt-free money system in. which the Government on behalf of the people takes back its sole prerogative of the issuance of all money, such money to be issued proportionally when population rise and increased production demand it and to be issued free, i.e., to finance public works, to repay public debt or to issue it to the people as a national . dividend. The second main image is the proper control of the currency so as to prevent further inflation. Inflation is of course essential to the

present parties in order to depreciate the National Debt and so make it possible to bear this increasing burden. Furthermore, just as the favourable images were absent from the sample so were the unfavourable ones to the other movements. In members’ mind National tried to solve the "over" full employment problem by flooding the market with imports and thereby used up our overseas funds. Labour on the other hand seeks to protect the "over" full employment situation by import control leading to shortages. In either case the country suffers because of the sectional interests of both parties. It would be interesting to know if the field workers in the survey asked whether or not any Social Credit literature had been read or speakers heard. Presumably Professor Milne selected Wellington Central as it is close to the University without taking into consideration the relative strenoth of the

three movements?

D. C.

BORLEY

Economic Adviser and Research Officer, N.Z. Social Credit Politi-

cal League, Inc.

(Christchurch).