- · Defining and defending modern conservatism
- · Defining and defending a modern conservative social platform
- · Defining and defending a modern conservative fiscal platform
1. Defining and Defending Modern Conservatism
Being the leader of the Conservative party in Canada is
considerably more difficult that herding cats. Cats at least know and agree on who
they are. Conservatives in contrast do not know and agree on who they are. Some believe they must be more like
liberals in order to get elected and others believe they should stand for a
real conservative alternative. Traditional
conservatives are now oddities in our post-truth, post-Christendom liberal
democracy. The good news is that they actually hold the key to rescuing Canada
from the new politically correct distortions and cultural destruction of
intolerant liberalism – freedom of speech and religion.
This is the crux of the challenge facing modern
conservatives. Our opponents have managed to gradually back conservatives into
a very small corner where any politically incorrect comment or criticism of
their destructive and foolish “progressive” ideas is automatically dismissed as
“not progressive” (whatever that is), possibly hateful and proof conservatives
are dangerous, misguided and irrelevant. The real Enlightenment values of
reason, freedom of speech and debate on which liberal democracy is founded have been gradually replaced in
Canada and the U.S. with an intolerant liberalism / socialism / Marxism which
abhors debate, conflict and criticism as being hateful and offensive. Freedom
of speech has been muzzled, turned around and weaponized by the political left.
This has been an incredibly clever and successful bid for political power. As
naïve intellectuals, the intolerant liberals / socialists /Marxists fail to see
or care that the suppression, limitation or intimidation of free speech is the
first step on the road to deceit, manipulation, control and ultimately dictatorship.
The consequence is many conservatives tend to take the easy
route and think they must “fly under the radar” and look progressives to avoid
ridicule and win an election. Conservatives need to ask themselves “How is that
working for us?”. It’s not. Conservatives
are still criticized for some imaginary long past hateful policy or
speech. Conservatives were credibly
accused of hypocrisy in the 2019 election campaign for trying to be electable
as a party that stands for freedom of speech and religion by limiting what they
say in public. It’s not very smart, successful or conservative.
The existential issue of our time is not climate change. It
is the rise of an intolerant liberalism (an oxymoron) that is destroying
liberal democracy in Canada and the U.S.
The point is that real liberal democracy depends on freedom of speech
and religion. All the successful liberal democracies in our time were founded
on the historic Judeo-Christian values of love of God and neighbour. This is
the cultural glue that restrains human corruption and deceit for most but not
all people and makes liberal democracy work. The most painful part of the
election campaign was watching our leader being destroyed by not being able to
turn reporters questions around and claim the high moral ground for
Conservatives – in contrast to Liberal candidates who do not have freedom of
speech and conscience on issues like abortion. Our leader must be able to
expose this intolerance of free speech and religion as the real existential
crisis facing liberal democracy in Canada
One of the clearest definitions of modern conservatism is in
Stephen Harper’s book Right Here Right
Now (2018). Harper explained the key differences between liberals and
conservatives is that “Conservatism begins with the issues it needs to address rather than the
policies it wants to apply.” (p. 83) Conservatism is empirical – applying the lessons of human experience
and insights into human nature to new challenges as they emerge. Conservatives
work from problems and issues to solutions., Modern liberals / progressives
start with dogma and look for policy applications of that dogma. Modern
liberalism ”… is purely about abstract intellectualism not merely un-rooted
experience but repelled by it.” (p. 84) In response to the “progressive” charge
that we are somehow out of touch with the modern world and irrelevant, Harper quotes
Disraeli who defined conservatism as not just fear and a brake on change, but
as a “disposition to conserve” combined with an “ability to improve”.
Conservatives need to select a charismatic leader who can
clearly explain modern conservatism and what makes us different from other
parties.
2. Defining and Defending a Relevant Modern Conservative Social Platform
Our opponents’ platform
will be dogma-based and driven by naïve intellectual idealism. The
good news is that the mainstream of Canada is deeply conservative (Crowley NP Oct. 29 A9). He challenges conservatives to rebut
misguided liberal / progressives identity politics with a positive practical
conservative thinking. “In the conservative view people are not first and
foremost black or transgender or Chinese or Muslim or Irish or Indigenous. They
are Canadians who enjoy the freedom to choose the identities that matter to
them. We do not protect only state approved opinions, behaviours and identities
because we are not servants of the state, but the other way around.” “Diversity
isn’t our strength; our strength attracts diversity. People from all nations
come here because of the freedom, stability and opportunity Canada offers, not
because people from all nations come here.”
Adam Daifallah, co-author of Rescuing Canada’s Right: Blueprint for a Conservative Revolution
writes: “The first order of business is to renew and redefine Social Policy”.
(NP Nov. 08, A9) He proposes we reposition ourselves as the champions of strong
families – regardless of their makeup… and policies that encourage strong
family units that get married, stay married and raise secure and loved
children. “Family units are the
most basic bulwark against a big expensive state and the most important tool a
society has in community building.”
The right social platform for conservatives must be based on
conservative values:
·
Individual
rights over government imposed affirmative action
·
Equality of
opportunity over equality of outcomes
·
Free speech (within
criminal law) over political correctness and protection from civil criticism.
·
What has
worked well in the past over radical new ideas and untested “progressivism”
Since the magic leftist mantra of climate change was used to
defeat us in 2019, conservatives need a leader with the courage to say the
science of carbon emissions causing climate is very not decided and explain
very clearly that the existing Conservative environmental policy would in
practical terms (vs theoretical) actually be more effective in reducing
greenhouse gasses globally – in the event the science does eventually become
agreed. The Conservatives actually had the ball but we dropped it – another
reason for selecting a new leader carefully.
Abortion is of course the killer Conservative social issue
(pun intended). Intolerant liberalism has traumatized conservatives and muzzled
civil debate and the search for a minimal compromise law in parliament. People
fear human rights fines or political banishment for even saying Canada should
not be the only developed country in the world that does not have any legal limitations
on abortion. Recent surveys have indicated that a small majority of Canadians
think there should be some basic limit on when women can have an abortion.
Right now a child could theoretically be killed at any time up to their actual
birth. This is highly offensive to many people in a country founded on traditional
Judeo-Christian values and a motto from the Bible that promises God’s rule
“from sea to sea”. (Psalm 72.8)
3. Defining and Defending a Modern Conservative Fiscal Policy
We should have
nailed it after four years of liberal fiscal irresponsibility in trying to
boost the economy and create jobs with massive debt loads that our
grandchildren will be paying off - just as we took a whole generation to payoff
the elder Trudeau’s fiscal irresponsibility. Alas instead of thinking it out the
Conservatives (predictably) put out a rigid and obsolete “balance the budget”
based plan, were flat-footed in getting the details out and the Liberals
destroyed them in Ontario.
Conservatives have to frame and present fiscal policies that
reflect modern economic thinking.
Most people (obviously) and most economists now believe that nations –
like individuals, can live richer lives today if they borrow responsibly
(especially when interest rates are low) invest the money wisely and do not go
into debit beyond what they can reasonably expect to pay back in the near future.
An obviously out of date fiscal policy is not a good ditch to die in as we
discovered in Ontario.
A new Conservative leader needs leadership
experience and credibility in defending a modern fiscal policy.
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