Liberal institutions on the fritz
Three institutions, three sets of problems, one sceptical government.
In New Zealand, as in most democracies, there are three institutions that are traditional bastions of liberal political thought. They are universities, the media and the public sector. While none of them are monoliths, each of them are overwhelmingly on the centre left in terms of basic disposition.
This guarantees liberals substantial amount of soft power when it comes to agenda-setting. Day-in and day-out, these are the institutions that set the bounds of public debate and the limits of acceptable opinion. There are other institutions that have a similar influence (NGOs and churches, to a limited extent) but the big three are in a class of their own.
By controlling the flow of information and the conferral of respectability, these liberal institutions have often played a decisive role in the settling political and social controversy.
Consider a common scenario involving a university academic speaks out on some leftwing cause.
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