What is the issue in this election? Why, the same as in all elections, my libertarian self exclaims. In the last 45 years, the only question has been whether the government implementing the NDP’s policies will be Liberal or Conservative.
OK, my libertarian self exaggerates. Does it exaggerate by much? I don’t think so.
The NDP may do abysmally in federal elections, but the NDP’s ideas flourish. Canada is governed from the middle, yes, but the middle is on the left. The politicians who form our next government will be statist — socialists in all but name — because there are no other kinds running. Our statists may vary in degree, but not in kind. Since the 1960s, classical liberals or conservatives either haven’t entered the arena or changed their policies afterwards. They wouldn’t have had a chance otherwise.
Here’s the irony, though: If socialists called themselves socialists, they wouldn’t stand a chance either. Canadians are funny that way. They’ll buy nothing but socialist policies and practices, but never from socialists. Calling things what they are isn’t politically polite in Canada.
George Jonas, “In Canada, socialists don’t win elections. But their policies do”, National Post, 2011-04-09
April 10, 2011
QotD: The real issue of the election
Filed under: Cancon, Government, Politics, Quotations — Tags: ElectionWatch, Socialism — Nicholas @ 00:08
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