Liberalism - The Scatterlings (2)
As a rule of thumb, liberals prefer leaders possessing a certain sophistication regarding the world and its complexities (Woodrow Wilson, FDR, Pearson, Trudeau, Kennedy, Clinton, Tony Blair). Conservative temperaments prefer the rugged and tough leaders with backbone (Teddy Roosevelt, John Diefenbaker, Ronald Reagan, Stephen Harper, George Bush). Owing to its historical relationship within the British Empire, the Commonwealth, its abiding relationship with France, and its great neighbour to the south, Canada has traditionally looked outward and consequently opted for largely liberal and worldly leaders.Progressive conservatives, of the kind who traditionally and occasionally acquired power in Canada, inherited and welcomed much of this historically liberal tendency for outward thinking and brought significant benefit to Canada and the world (most recently, Clark and Mulroney).In so many ways, Franklin Roosevelt was a complex mixture of all three – a towering individual, possessing huge stores of global knowledge, and a sometimes small “c” temperament when it came to threats beyond his country’s shores. Yet in the end, it was his small “l” liberalism that came to define him and his age.Roosevelt inherited untold troubles at home, yet we often overlook his major challenges in dealing with an often hostile and frustrating world. It was a global order in pieces, blown apart by a Great War (1914-1918) and a failed League of Nations. The great empires were receding, leaving huge moral and social vacuums in their wake and war clouds once again on the horizon. Beyond his shores lay emerging chaos and “scatterlings” – countries and peoples disinherited and disenchanted.In the midst of all this, that great liberal temperament had to deal with an “isolationist” Congress and a conservative brand that wanted only “America first.” Roosevelt’s greatest accomplishment was neither internal nor external leadership, but both functioning at the same time. No small wonder then that he credited his liberal upbringing and education for providing him the tools for what he would eventually have to undertake.It’s not without a certain logic that Canada is requiring a similar form of liberalism today. The end of the Cold War almost two decades ago left a world more hopeful yet unglued. Rogue states (Libya, Iran, Iraq, among others) began flexing their muscles and building their military empires. The disintegrated Soviet empire left a host of abandoned orphaned countries struggling to find their own purpose. And above all there was that new entity destined to trouble any place where progress was underway – terrorism.In our world today, scatterlings are everywhere. Climate change has created millions of refugees roaming the planet, with as many more to come. Internally displaced people can be found everywhere from China to Haiti. A billion people live on less than two dollars a day, and disease, drought, and starvation are their daily lot. The natural order and its threatened ecosystems are undermining our future. We are in an Afghan war that defies solution and we are purchasing aircraft for billions of dollars when we can’t even fulfill our aid commitments. The liberal mind, surveying all this, must ask what it has historically asked: how can we gather these troubled elements and extend the blessings we have to those without?While we have succeeded in protecting and promoting great prosperity within Canada, our role as a world player is receding – we are now 58th on the list of countries donating peacekeepers. The strong man in Ottawa would have us look at our role in Afghanistan and say “Canada is strong in the world,” while liberals witness the devastation from climate change, poverty, war and a lack of human rights and desire to get out there with our money, our internationalism, our entrepreneurial spirit, and our smarts to begin the process of healing. Progressive conservatives have much the same leaning but have trouble getting past the large “C” brand.Canadians are more than aware of the challenges faced beyond our shores, and, as within Canada itself, there is this possibility to establish a more just world and networked system that not only enhances the benefit of trade and prosperity, but elevates the possibilities for the scatterlings, permitting them their rightful place in a new millennium.This won’t prove an impossible sell in Canada if the political order would merely throw down the challenge. It will prove difficult and involve self-sacrifice on our part, but our desire to be the great humanitarian soft power in the today’s world remains enduringly fascinating to the Canadian mind. Liberalism’s opportunity is now to finally bring the planet, its people and its potential into alignment. Peace and prosperity yet remain the great liberal legacies, not only within Canada, but also in its influence the world.