"The Muddled Middle"

The great American diplomat George Kennan spoke of “The Gulag Archipelago” by Solzhenitsyn as “the most powerful single indictment of a political regime ever to be levied in modern times.” Solzhenitsyn’s insights probed deeper in the to diabolical nature of political power than anyone in the West had encountered previously and led to his humiliation and imprisonment.Western observers pretended they understood all this and delighted at the fall of the former Soviet Union. So did many who had suffered under its rule as well. People like Solzhenitsyn had their many followers among the intelligentsia who trumpeted the free market reforms that ensued after the great fall. Ironically, under Vladimir Putin, many who once spoke out against the abuses of power have now become some of his key supporters. Why the sudden switch? According to many Russian observers, the kind of courage of reformers like Solzhenitsyn and Sakharov, heralded at the time, has now fallen out of favour. It seems that the key reason for the silence concerning Putin’s heavy authoritarianism isn’t fear or even a lack of courage. Instead it is greed – the desire to recover the perks and positions of absolute power that Solzhenitsyn had railed against.This is a valuable lesson in a time when Canadian parties overcrowd the political middle of the spectrum in order to achieve or maintain power. For some reason, Liberal supporters have joined the rush to centre, often losing their identity in the process. There is a key distinction between being a “centrist” party as opposed to being a party of the centre. The “centre” is a position on a sliding scale; a “centrist” is defined by a principle of equity, fairness and justice. Centrists care about finding the right workable solutions regardless of what side of the political spectrum they come from. Actually, though they little realize it, most Canadians are centrists by nature – caring little for the left and right shenanigans but keenly interested in a national life of balance. This is what Liberals should be driving for.Centrism is all about finding workable solutions wherever they may be found without special regard for political ideologies. For too long supporters of the Liberal Party have been looking for the right conditions for the reacquisition of power instead of addressing those conditions that presently threaten to ruin our historic Canadian sense of balance. What is needed is not a party that opts for the political centre in hot pursuit of swing voters, but one which sides firmly with fiscal responsibility, the proper addressing of growing poverty, the drive for environmental sustainability, a fierce tenacity in upholding human rights at home and abroad, the upholding of labour rights and the merit of job creation. We require a party that recognizes the difference between fact and opinion, between evidence and ideology. We need a party that holds to the reality that not all equitable solutions are to be implanted from the private sector, but which can apply business principles when suitable. We are in urgent need of a party that refuses to maintain that taxes are bad and that the bottom line is always the best.Centrism is a place of principle rooted in social progress and inclusiveness and refuses to accept any solution that leaves out a portion of the population. It comprehends the truth that government has an important role to play in any society but that government without restraint is the bane of civilization. It believes that government is not a warfare of interests, but a structure meant to be infused by the cooperative nature of Canadians and their communities.Woodrow Wilson observed that he stood “in the presence of an awakened nation, impatient of partisan make-believe.” The Canadian predicament is that our country is slumbering – fed up with partisanship to be sure, but slumbering nevertheless. It is looking for a Liberal Party that will quit sliding with the times and stand on the principles of fairness and equity regardless of the political consequences. The ultimate calling of government isn’t to be like chameleons, changing with the vote, but citizen-driven, standing firm on the principle of the health of our communities. The future of the Liberal Party lies with those political leaders smart enough to figure out that the great Canadian citizenry is actually interested more in government than it is in stupid, blind, partisan politics. Perhaps the greatest challenge of the Liberal Party is to stop chasing the moving target of the centre of the political spectrum and begin uncovering and empowering the principled centrist that lies in the fibre of most Canadians.This is why the Liberal Party requires a progressive institute. The public space in Canada has been overrun by the think tanks trumpeting the glories of the private sector. That’s their right. We now require more than ever a policy institution that researches, builds, debates, and empowers Canadians and their politicians from the place of progressive centrism. In recent years Liberals have displayed a propensity for wandering in search of a power they once possessed; it’s time to search for a principled position instead, rooted and empowered by an institute that comprehends that most Canadians are centrists in nature while most politicians remain infatuated with madly pursuing power at the political centre.Democracy has become characterized by a cacophony of complaints that drown out its own urgent message in a sea of interests. It cries for attention for renewal only to be usurped by a manic pursuit of power. And that lust for authority has led far too many to a political centre that is more muddled that principled. It’s time for Liberals to start speaking truth to power, not as partisans, but as principled citizens in pursuit of equity and fairness. A progressive centrist institute could assist in keeping us accountable to that great goal.