| This thesis is an analysis of the 'New Zealand experiment' (1984-96) focused on the telecommunications industry. The claims made are twofold. Firstly, that the events of the last twelve years are associated with the reconfiguration of the economy, state, and society, and the relationships between them. Correspondingly, these are qualitatively new times for the institutions of capitalism and forms of social life in New Zealand. Secondly, that new modes of political-economic analysis are necessary. In order to explore the contested processes through which certain representations of economic, political, and social life become dominant at particular moments, it is necessary to recognize the contingent nature of concepts and categories.;The thesis takes the form of a 'situated knowledge' in which the locatedness of political-economic concepts and categories is the starting point. Methodologically, there are three aspect to the analysis. Firstly, the discourses through which new representations come into being; secondly, the strategies, techniques, and procedures by which these representations are transformed into social practice; and thirdly, the forms of political-economic identity fostered by these discourses and practices. With this approach it is possible to identify the specificity of taken-for-granted political-economic concepts and categories, and show how new understandings are created through and against contested and contradictory processes. As such, the thesis represents a contribution to an emergent post-structuralist political economy.;The analysis demonstrates that in New Zealand the economy is now conceptualized as a 'space of flows' through which regions, industrial sectors, and individuals are articulated into the Pacific Rim. Under 'market governance', in which the overall political rationality is the pursuit of international competitiveness, the 'competition state' facilitates increased levels of foreign investment, technology, and labour, and it is through market relations that the conduct of enterprises and individuals is aligned with this general political ambition. Forms of social life have also been transformed. The consumer has become the hegemonic political-economic identity, and the social dimensions of the identity worker have been attenuated. It is in this context that I contend the 'New Zealand experiment' marks the contested emergence of qualitatively new forms of economic, political, and social life. |
