Winning hearts and minds for the Competition State
An important question concerns the routes by which the Competition State is able to secure ongoing political support, or what is referred to as ‘the battle for hearts and minds’. The tapping of legitimacy vis-a-vis the current Competition State is explored drawing on examples of the UK and New Zealand. Three ‘hyphen concepts’ are outlined: hyphen one focuses on the British or Kiwi-Competition State; hyphen two explores the welfare processes of the Socially Investing-Competition State; hyphen three outlines the relationship between the Competition State and civil society within the Opportunity Society-Competition State. These hyphens may assist in exploring, albeit tentatively, how the battle for hearts and minds has been won and, indeed, is continuing to be won as forms of the Competition State are consolidated.