Where have all the good conservatives gone?
I generally lean left on the political spectrum. I'm an advocate for the “social good,” and I believe humans do best in societies with more equality than inequality. I'm concerned about the recent rise in income inequality over the past few decades and the emergence of a new billionaire class—reminiscent of America’s “robber barons” of the late 1800s.
That said, I work in business and understand the need for fiscal responsibility in order to fund the social programs I support. We've seen how the "animal spirits" unleashed by capitalism can drive motivation and achievement, especially when compared with more extreme leftist systems like 20th-century communism. I even have an advanced business degree, for what that’s worth.
Some might assume I’m anti-globalist, but I actually support global trade and the principle of comparative advantage. I believe in modern economics, and that—on balance—trade is a force for good. And don’t get me started on the foolishness of tariffs, or the orange fool south of the border who’s proving to be every bit the con man he is.
conservatives vs Conservatives
I find today’s crop of “Conservatives”—note the capital "C"—to be anything but conservative. In fact, I declare they besmirch the good name of conservatism. Conservatism that stands for fiscal-conservatism, for reducing unnecessary regulation - in order to let the distributed nature of "societal intelligence" that is our economy get to work - to reduce the planned economy (I'm looking at you excessive housing zoning). Small "c" conservatism that includes keeping government out of my business - such as out of my bedroom, and personal decisions about my own body, or my wife's body. Small "c" conservatism that values privacy, and minimal powers to the police and the police state.
The current crop of far-right "Conservatives" are not conservatives in my book. They do not deserve to use the name conservatism, just like they don't deserve to co-opt my Canadian flag. We should call them what they are:
Extremists
The Far-Right
Con-men
Fools
Fascists (some of them, at least)
Stooges for oligarchs
Take the “BC Cons” as an example. They’ve hijacked the name BC Conservative, but from what I’ve seen, they’re anything but. They’ve embraced anti-vax rhetoric, rejected science, and pushed simplistic “solutions” to complex problems—solutions that don’t actually solve anything. As a society, we’ve already solved many of the “easy” public health issues—like sewage treatment and clean water.
Complex problems are complex
Where we are now is a phase of harder challenges, and problems that are less simple:
The toxic drug crisis.
Our over-dependence on car transportation in our cities.
The need for collective action to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
These are not easy problems. If they were, we would have solved them already. In many cases, the solutions are known. The real challenge lies in democratic politics: convincing more than 50% of voters to support leaders willing to take difficult, short-term actions for long-term gain. That’s hard work.
Doug Ford, Ontario’s Premier, is part of this same populist trend. Modern “Conservatives” like him often push “common-sense” solutions – code for: I know little about this complex issue, but here’s an obvious-sounding fix. It’s shallow thinking packaged as wisdom.
Donald Trump and his ilk are in this camp. Elon Musk, too – an oligarch who, having won the game of “having the most money,” now seems bent on “controlling the most souls.” A deeply flawed man whose values have very little in common with mine.
It’s time to stop letting right-wing populists dishonour the name of conservatism. Call them what they are. In many cases, they are fascists—and many of their followers are fools.
Don’t let the light of intelligence be drowned out by the noisy folly of fools.
Vote.
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