The National Mood [2004]
As the graphic shows, things have been "going fine" in New Zealand. For the past three years we have had counter-cyclical growth, not initiated by a rising mood but definitely sustained by it. And we have learned to live in the open-ended global environment and to tolerate its fundamental uncertainties.
Review of mood research by Windshift's Director, Jill Caldwell 1991-2003
Unlike the qualitative descriptors I assigned to the national mood in 2000 and 2002, there was a real sense of irritation in the class of 2004:
2000
Placid constructive resilient indifferent steady self nvolved
2002 Contented reserved consolidating confident alert grateful
2004 Smug myopic optimistic unsettled irritable indifferent.
They're still optimistic. Overall, 75% believe their life is going to be better in future. This compares with 74% personally optimistic in 2002 and 78% in 2003.
But to date, 2004 feels like a re-run of 1998 - without the Asian crisis. I drew on the wisdom of John Kenneth Galbraith to explain this phenomenon:-
"Doing
well, many wish to do better. Having enough, many wish for more.
Being comfortable, many raise vigorous objection to that which invades
comfort. . .. The future for the contented majority is thought effectively
within their personal command. Their anger is evident - and indeed
can be strongly evident - only when there is a threat or possible
threat to present well being and future prospect - when government
and the seemingly less deserving intrude or threaten to intrude
their needs or demands."
John Kenneth Galbraith, The Culture of Contentment. Penguin 1992.
"We have learned to live in the open-ended global environment and to tolerate its fundamental uncertainties."