Canada – the Case for Conservatism

Another piece by Mark Wegierski to mark the Sesquicentennial of Canadian Confederation

Given the disparity in resources between small-c conservatives and left-liberals in Canada, the situation of conservatism sometimes seems virtually hopeless. What traditionalists call “human nature” is generally considered a fiction by left-liberals, who believe that human beings are almost entirely determined by their environment and can indeed be shaped in any direction that left-liberalism chooses.

What most Canadian conservatives have failed to articulate is what is lost in the transition from a more traditional society, to one characterized by late modernity. For example, there is a loss of a sense of nationhood, of the feeling of living in a more homogenous, more rooted society. A more homogenous society is usually a society where people are more courteous to each other. A more homogenous society is also usually one with fewer economic disparities. The American state of Utah, one of the most homogenous in the Union, has some of the lowest levels of economic disparity in America.

Delicate Arch, Utah

There is in Canada a fracturing of culture, under the pressures of the American pop-culture, the extremes of multiculturalism and excessive Aboriginal claims. Ironically, the official champions of Canadian culture are among the greatest mavens of political-correctness. Continue reading →