Liberalism - The Discomfited

The ancient Cicero claimed: “The good of the people is the chief law.”  Tough to, disagree because it sounds eminently liberal.  Canadians today would concur easily, but we would have to follow up with, “which people?”This is a question that will be frequently asked of Canada, as our form of democracy grows a little long in the tooth.  The previous post alluded to the middle class as being the new elites – the comfortable.  We always want more, but basically we known we’ve got it pretty good.  While our parents and grandparents took the little they had and invested it into the building of communities, institutions and a country, we instead put our money into investment properties, a second car, that new addition or a holiday in Florida.  We can never begrudge such things; it’s just that our predecessors built, whereas we spend.The rise of the huge middle class in Canada was a modern wonder.  There was a time when its reach extended ever outward and there was the belief I held in my youth that every Canadian would benefit.It never got that far, and for good reason: the middle class itself stopped it.  To be sure, there are those that blame corporatism, immigration, high taxes, and the like, but we could have overcome all of those obstacles in our desire to benefit all Canadians.  We just didn’t, and therein lies the story.Once the middle class became settled, it began the slow process of imitating the elites that had preceded them by acting together to protect their holdings, primarily against government.  This was the same government (at all levels) that opened the door to their fortune by wise management.  Suddenly it was a different era; the middle class held the power and they used it in their best interests.For all the observations as to why Canada is perhaps becoming more conservative, this is perhaps the most profound.  As we struggled and climbed as citizens in earlier times, we found strength in one another for progress and looked to government to make it resilient.  And it worked.  We could suddenly afford homes.  More than just one family member could go to university.  Babies born prematurely had much higher survival rates.  Roads were engineered, and local communities flourished.  Unions ensured not only higher wages, but a kind of community activism that was empowering.And then at some point we turned, and the country stopped its rapid progress.  Now we fight anyone daring to expand the economic franchise.  We have been blessed as the comfortable, yet we have lived our good fortune on the backs of others we prefer not to consider.  Our local communities tell the story – infrastructure crumbling, food bank clientele growing, health costs skyrocketing, environmental degradation, joblessness or meager employment, decaying cities and the loss of hope.  Then there are the extended communities:  aboriginal people no further ahead, species in every natural category under assault, manufacturing in serious decline, and desperately poor people in Africa having to deal with Canadian government cuts in funding.  These are the discomfited, and they should have a say in Canada’s future.We now live such good lives, in the main, and we’ll man the ramparts to protect them.  The trouble is: we were once on the other side ourselves, until dedicated citizens and caring governments blew them away and opened the franchise to more Canadians.We can’t have this conversation without talking taxes – an absolutely verbotin word in today Canadian lexicon.  Our grandparents hardly paid taxes and remained trapped in a world of possibilities and dreams unrealized.  When it became clear that the introduction of further taxes would help them achieve a better future for their children, they not only accepted it as a sacrifice for a greater Canada, but actually voted for politicians and parties that held out that dream.  Nobody likes taxes, especially those that worked so hard for a living, but they didn’t like social limitation either and so they made their choice as a generation.Those taxes paid for the very foundation of our comfort.  But this generation has said “enough.”  Now that we have arrived at the place our parents dreamed for us, we have failed to apply their dedication to the future.  No further taxes for us.And what of those left behind – the people like we used to be?  Today’s liberalism can never accept that they are trapped in circumstances that are oppressive.  Today’s liberalism would remind us of our genius as a country and our responsibility to those that are marginalized.  It would press us to get over our present hurdle, to become an inclusive people once again that builds our tomorrow on the back of our sacrifice today and not the other way around, as is in vogue at present.  The true liberal spirit is never about selfishness but self-organizing with others to get our children the best life we can.