Story: Ideas in New Zealand

Albert Métin

Albert Métin

Albert Métin was a young French academic who won a scholarship to study labour legislation in Australia and New Zealand. He visited New Zealand in 1899. Coming from a society where ideology had always been a significant factor in politics, he was struck by the fact that New Zealand's radical social legislation had been achieved with very little input from theory. He coined the phrase 'socialism without doctrines' and argued that the reforms in Australasia were pragmatic responses to problems, not governed by any socialist vision.

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How to cite this page:

Jock Phillips, 'Ideas in New Zealand - Socialism', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/45486/albert-metin (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Jock Phillips, published 22 Oct 2014