Go to article index for other editions of Bob Orrick's IN RE (In the Matter of).
Politics - Such An Ugly But Essential Thing
By
Bob Orrick
Politics is not always what it appears. For instance, the term 'liberal' today means socialism more than its initial, original meaning of 'free.' Conservatism today has taken on the mantle of 'liberalism' while shucking its true meaning of 'to save.' Socialism, which can trace its roots back to Plato, means that community [read government], not wealthy individuals or small groups of individuals, should own industrial enterprises. Hence, in Canada, socialist governments have become more and more involved in the day to day running of business at the expense of private enterprise. The two remaining political groups - fascism and communism - are on the right and left respectively of the five-group political spectrum that is general worldwide. In Canada both the extreme right and the extreme left are little supported but some of the left's ideology has surfaced in socialism.
In today's politics, individual parties tend to 'steal' ideas from each other and then claim them as their own creation. An example of that was seen in the heyday of Liberal Pierre Trudeau when he campaigned against Conservative Bob Stanfield in the federal general election of 1975. During that campaign, Stanfield, the Conservative, urged Canadians to accept the idea of wage and price controls to fight inflation; Liberal Trudeau, on the other hand, poo-pooed the idea and campaigned vigorously against it. Trudeau won the election and on 14 October 1975 introduced wage and price controls in the House of Commons. Of course, the idea of wage and price controls was straight out of a socialist's handbook. While it is a bit surprising that a Conservative would promote wage and price controls it is not all that surprising that a Liberal would. [Stanfield was considered a 'pink conservative.] Moreover, Trudeau had been a socialist - some say Fabian communist - all his wealthy life. At first, he was comfortable as a member of the New Democratic Party but when he saw that fame would not come to him via that party's low standing, he jumped the short distance to the Liberals. In 1968, on the fourth ballot, he was elected leader of the national Liberals. Soon after, Canada began a downward slide that continues to this day. Stanfield, in the meantime, went back to his Nova Scotia home and thought of what might have been had Canadians accepted his wage and price control programme.
Today, with the hoopla of the national Conservative Party's leadership convention barely put away, Canada is viewing with some concern the election of Peter MacKay as Party leader. From all reports, MacKay is a bit of a puzzle; on the one hand he espouses conservatism while on the other, he hugs socialism. True conservatism grew out of the British populace's reaction against the excesses of liberalism. British statesman Edmund Burke [1729-97] played a hand in the formation of Conservatism.
Over the years as the political spectrum has shifted leftward and as parties steal ideology from each other, the demarcation lines between the political entities have become blurred. How else to explain MacKay's ready acceptance of socialist David Orchard and his non-conservative political views. Even the Liberals, who feel strongly that their party is the ordained governing party of Canada, are not above stealing ideas away from others.
When Trudeau barely won the 1972 election, he was forced to form a union with the socialist NDP in order to form a minority government. While the NDP had not come anywhere close to victory, its policies became strong units in the Liberals' government programmes. The Liberals were not backward about stealing and using socialist ideals; they did so to remain in power. What is it that Lord Acton wrote in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887, "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely." In the same letter, Lord Acton also wrote, "Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority." Do we see any of Lord Acton's words in action today? In Canada or anywhere else in the world? Yes, of course, both in Canada and elsewhere.
From all of the above, we can deduce that Peter MacKay wants more than anything to be prime minister of Canada; it would appear that he will go to any length and will accept any deal to satisfy his zeal for power. It is also clear that MacKay has no idea of true conservatism. Furthermore, MacKay's endorsement of socialism is a kick in the butt for real conservatives who will no doubt feel betrayed by MacKay's idea of 'the end justifies the means' approach to leadership. Of course, a thinking person will realise straight away that MacKay stands about as much chance of becoming prime minister of Canada as Maude Barlow does of being named entrepreneur of the year in Canada.
The benefactors of MacKay's 'devilish deal' with Orchard might well be the Canadian Alliance Party, the one party that more than the Conservatives represent conservatism in Canada today.
Bob Orrick is a private tutor of English grammar, literature, poetry and Canadian history to off-shore youngsters. His pupils hail from such places as Taiwan, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea and Venezuela. He was previously in international marketing, was a ministerial assistant to a provincial cabinet minister, spent a few years as a reporter then editor of a community newspaper and enjoyed a career in the Royal Canadian Navy.
Advertising Information 
