Indigenous Belief in a Just World: New Zealand M?ori and other Ethnicities Compared

Abstract

Survey evidence has revealed large differences in beliefs held by different cultures and ethnicities which may affect their economic prosperity. We study how the beliefs of New Zealand’s indigenous M?ori about the causes of wealth or poverty and the extent to which people are responsible for their own fate differ from non-M?ori using World Values Survey data from 1995 to 2011. M?ori are more likely to believe that (1) the poor have been unfairly treated and are not lazy; (2) a better life is due to luck and not hard work; (3) the Government is doing too little for those in need; and (4) business should not be run solely by the owners, compared to non-M?ori. We control for income, education and employment status, inter alia. The paper also compares differences between M?ori and non-M?ori within NZ to those between (non-indigenous) blacks and non-blacks within the US, as a benchmark. Stark results hold with respect to non-economic beliefs: whereas M?ori are 8.6% more likely to believe that the environment should be given priority over economic growth compared to non-M?ori, blacks are 20.5% less likely to hold this view compared to other Americans. Hence the evidence suggests that being indigenous plays a role in belief formation.

Indigenous Identity and Environmental Values: Do Spirituality and Political Consciousness Predict Environmental Regard Among Māori?

“…The current study replicates and extends previous literature on Indigenous environmental regard in New Zealand in a number of important ways. Our results are in line with Grimes et al (2015) finding that Ma ori people are more likely to prioritize protecting the environment above economic growth. However, this previous research was limited in that it did not investigate environmental regard independently from economic values (as these were both conflated on a single measure).…”

“…Study 1 examined differences in environmental regard between Māori, New Zealand European, Asian, and Pasifika peoples using data from the 2012 wave (Time 4) of the NZAVS. As is in line with previous research (Grimes et al, 2015), we expected that Māori would value the environment to a greater degree than New Zealand Europeans, but it was unclear what the extent of this difference would be. For completeness, we also included Asian and Pasifika people in our analysis (according to the census, New Zealand Europeans, Māori, Asian, and Pasifika people make up 97.7% of New Zealanders).…”

“…Distinguishing between these attitudes is especially important in the New Zealand context, as many Ma ori continue to experience great economic disadvantage and may thus be unconvinced that economic growth will equally benefit all New Zealanders (Blakely & Pearce, 2002). Economic attitudes may thus be driving the relationship found by Grimes et al (2015). It is therefore important to clarify this previous work by investigating ethnic differences in environmental regard independently from other attitudes.…”

“…Previous researchers have also investigated cultural variation in environmental regard in New Zealand with regards to trade-offs that people are willing to make for environmental protection. Grimes, MacCulloch, and McKay (2015) found that Māori were more likely to prioritize protecting the environment over economic growth and employment than other ethnicities in New Zealand. However, their single measure (“Protecting the environment should be given priority, even if it causes slower economic growth and some loss of jobs”) was unable to separate out the effects of environmental and economic concerns.…”

Conceptualising historical privilege: the flip side of historical trauma, a brief examination

“…Individuals who believe success in life is related to “hard work” and “taking risks” are more likely to oppose more equitable redistribution of economic resources, while those who believe success is more likely due to “money inherited from family” and “connections and knowing the right people” tend to support redistributive measures (Fong, 2001). Recent survey findings into New Zealand attitudes and values have shown dramatic differences in the number of non-Māori New Zealanders who support more equitable redistribution of resources compared to Māori (Grimes, MacCulloch, & McKay, 2015). The re-emergence and intensification of the “upward mobility through hard work” master narrative are a direct result of intergenerational privilege that has been exacerbated through the implementation of a neo-liberal agenda which began in the 1980s (Kelsey, 1995).…”