Dialogue: We need to develop the culture of 'Kiwi can do'

New Zealand's decline from being one of the wealthiest nations to being much poorer per head of population than countries such as Singapore has led to a debate about whether the decline is caused by our values.

We know that mineral wealth does not guarantee success. Countries with better climate, soils and rich in minerals, such as much of Africa, are in poverty. Nations with fewer resources than we have, such as Singapore, have overtaken us.

I have followed the Herald's Common Core Debate series with interest. Most commentators appear to think what we need is a clear mission statement - a set of values upon which we can agree.

Associate Professor R.A. Cook, of the University of Illinois in Chicago, has, with the Human Synergistics Centre for Applied Research, surveyed more than two million managers worldwide, including in New Zealand. His research showed there was no connection between a company's mission statement and its economic performance.

When we look around the world we can see that this is true for countries as well. Cuba has wonderful mission statements and appalling poverty. Liechtenstein, one of the world's richest countries, has no mission statements.

Professor Cook said his research showed that it was culture that was vital in determining success.

So what is the difference between a company or a country's culture, and espousing a set of values? In the context of a company, its culture is found not by looking at its mission statement, but at the values revealed by "the way we do things around here."

The reason Singapore is successful and Africa is not is the culture. The reason North America is far more successful than South America is the culture.

When I visited Argentina, there were power cuts most days. People I spoke to said no one could do anything about it.

Singapore, in contrast, is frighteningly efficient. Singaporeans would never say a problem was unsolvable.

Believing your efforts make a difference is cultural value - so, too, is the belief that results matter.

The cultural values of a society are determined by what we teach our children at home and in the education system, so what are we saying when we tell children that results do not matter?

Our culture is also determined by Government, by our laws, courts, policy and the private sector.

When we examine our culture, we need to ask: does it reinforce success and economic prosperity? We also need to ask: what are the conditions indicative of economic prosperity?

I accept that some, like the Greens, dispute whether prosperity is a good thing. Having lived in a poor nation, I know the desperation poverty brings. Most of us want prosperity, not just to have two cars in every garage, but for another purpose.

There is not a social issue from health to education to superannuation or employment that extra prosperity will not solve.

High standards of living are recent. Our ancestors 200 years ago were no wealthier than those who lived in Shakespeare's day. Prosperity has come with the rise of private enterprise.

Private enterprise is based on secure private property rights, the rule of law, sanctity of contract and citizens making their own choices, rather than the state - a free enterprise culture.

There are some activities that need to be performed collectively - police, defence, law - but it appears that the more decisions that are left to individuals, the greater the overall wealth.

It seems that history is a constant struggle between the individual and the state.

While a healthy self-interest needs to be balanced with responsibility for others, for most of human existence the state has dominated and the result has been restrictions and a lack of progress.

Freedom to make decisions comes with the requirement to be responsible for one's actions, a cultural concept many find frightening. Our economic decline parallels a decline in personal responsibility.

ACC means that the drunken driver is not personally economically liable for the victim he cripples.

The domestic purposes benefit has seen the rise of the $10-a-week fathers, and thousands more who pay nothing. Open-ended welfare has seen over 400,000 adults on benefits, and that is not including superannuation.

We have created a culture of dependency and lack of accountability.

Progressive income tax has seen half the average worker's wealth taken by the state, so that hard work, thrift and personal responsibility are not rewarded but punished.

There is no doubt that our culture has significantly changed from the days when New Zealand was one of the wealthiest countries per capita. Every attempt to make us secure has made us all more economically insecure.

Too often, just being politically correct is what matters rather than the results. Our politicians tell us how much they are spending on social programmes as if that was the answer. Once we would have asked the tougher question: is the programme effective?

Just adopting a slogan won't turn the country around. We need a far more ambitious goal. To be a First World nation we need a First World culture. We need to change our culture - the way we do things around here.

We need to recreate a New Zealand culture that values effectiveness and recognises it is results that matter. We should examine every policy to ensure that it is promoting the "Kiwi can do" culture.

* Richard Prebble is the Act Party leader.

Herald Online feature: Common core values

We invite to you to contribute to the debate on core values. E-mail dialogue@herald.co.nz.