[2] In particular, the government was accused of adopting "socialist" policies to combat the Depression,[3] and of attempting to appease left-wingers rather than resist them.
The New Zealand Legion presented itself as an alternative solution to the Depression, winning support from conservatives who believed that action was necessary but who rejected the socialist approach.
Its candidates for the Wellington Harbour Board and Eastbourne Borough Council were all defeated however.
Another was individualism — harshly critical of "state paternalism", the Legion promoted what it saw as the right of people to be free from (and if necessary, to resist) government interference in their affairs.
After the Legion's eventual demise, Campbell Begg, its one-time leader, was approached by the Nazis while on a world trip, but is reported to have found their philosophy "absurd".