Spoilt by reality

This article in the Sydney Morning Herald about NEOs is worth a read – BUT.

It is always interesting to read about new models for understanding consumers and this new book by Honeywill and Byth's ( NEO Power: how the new economic order is changing the way we live, work, and play) looked to have some interesting things to say. What I liked about the concept was that it was age neutral and seemed to have some genuine new insights. I quote:

THEY like a beer and the footy but are also connoisseurs of wine and the arts. They vote Liberal because they like economic rationalist policies but also identify strongly with small "l" liberal social and environmental policies more likely to be put forward by the Greens.

They have good jobs which they like, but don't define themselves by the work they do and won't be tied down to a particular employer.
They are cutting-edge consumers but not slaves to well-known brands. They buy a lot of books but love the internet and are early adaptors of new technology. They're better educated, better paid and spend more than other Australians.

They are a marketer's dream and a political strategist's nightmare. And there are an estimated 4 million of them.These postmodern bundles of consumerist contradictions have been dubbed "NEOs" (the New Economic Order).

So far so good. Then I got to the section where they started applying the logic to the way the NEOs are changing the political landscape. When I read how the "Third Way" (the invention of Tony Blair's New Labour party) had encouraged "responsible risk takers", and “revitalised the country’s public services” and “taken a tougher line with law and order” I realized the authors inhabited a parallel universe. Sad. Dick Stroud