We’re hearing a lot of noise in the press about “unite the left” since the NDP’s Pat Martin uttered these three words recently in his call for an ‘informal coalition’ of Liberals and New Democrats to defeat the Tories.
It is somewhat humorous to me that just because we are bombarded continually with the rhetoric that the Liberals and the New Democrats are on the left, we assume it to be true.
Reality check #1:
The Liberals are not left, nor are they even centre-left.
The Paul Martin and Jean Chrétien Liberals slashed taxes and the size of the federal government more than any other federal government has since World War II. More than Dief. More than Clark. More than Mulroney.
The Liberals in 1994, 1995 and 1996 were the most radically right-wing government Canada has had since well before the Mulroney era.
How is this even considered centrist let alone centre-left?
Reality check #2:
The NDP is not left wing.
Consider the NDP’s platforms and then compare them to European parties.
Were the NDP to sit in the European Parliament, it would most likely to sit as one of the centrist or even centre-right members of the party-group PES (Party of European Socialists). Since the NDP merely wish for the capitalist system to be managed differently and want what are comparatively extremely modest reforms to the capitalist system, I would argue that they would fit in on the centre-right of the PES group.
Moreover, in European papers, the PES group, while admittedly broad and containing some genuinely left-wing parties, is generally referred to as “centre-left”.
So where does that leave the NDP? Sure it’s left of centre and sure it’s to the left of the Liberals (but then again that’s not hard). But, given most Western democracies as a base measure, it is not difficult to imagine that the NDP would generally be considered by most Europeans as centre-left at best.
If we’re really going to be honest, then we really ought to call proposal what it is: ‘unite the centre’.
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But we are in Europe, but in North America with the United States influencing our political parties big time. So when the NDP here, advocates for 10 bucks an hour minimum wage, national pharmcare program, and cap and trade on emissions, keeping public health public, increasing child benefits, proportional representation, they get called “communists.” The fact is the center radically shifted to the right in North America. I saw that shift particularly under the Liberal govt for 13 years.
Recently, I see Dion dancing to the right again. Talk progressive tack right. Same old, same old
janfromthebruce – I agree with you and I think your point is well taken. My point was merely to attempt to put our conceptions of right, centre and left into a global perspective. My attempt was to at least shift the language of the centre and the left to a less US-influenced conception which would, consequently, jive with much more of the world’s population.
I think the global perspective is much needed.
I think one of the reasons the NDP seems “left” to many people is due to the undemocratic nature of our political system. Had we a system like most (all?) of continental Europe the NDP would be flanked on the left by a Green Party, and/or a socialiost or communist party.
Yes but aren’t the Canada greens to the right of the NDP fiscally? I would say there are no absolutes here. Defninitely using the US definition of right, left for Canadian politics is totally wrong.
I think if you look at the Green platform most people who actually analyze it would say the Greens were far far right fiscally, socially and democratically.
They like to live under the “leftie label” in canada though because they then get the socialist/communist swing votes.
There are not as many swing votes to the right of the centre right Conservatives.
Paul:
If you’re going to take a Global View of things, then you have to admit that all of Canada’s political parties are essentially centrist and essentially have no real differences in ideology.
We’re a far ways from Communism (left) and Facism (right).
Therefore, when you talk the left-right spectrum, you must do so from a regional point of view. Otherwise, it means nothing at all.
I see private health care as a right concept. It seems to be that way in the US and Canada.
Dan – I don’t quite fully understand what you mean when you write about the necessity of the parochiality of the left-right spectrum. Could you please clarify?
As for your statement that “We’re a far ways from Communism (left) and Facism (right).”
I agree that, broadly-speaking, most parties in Canada are not extreme (either left or right). However that said, I think most objective views of history would acknowledge that we are FAR closer to the Fascism side of the equation than the Communism side. Keep in mind that the definition of Fascism derives from the Latin word Fasces which refers to the bundle of wooden sticks used to contain an axe as the symbol of the power of the state over life and death, war and peace, freedom and servitude. Take a look at Michael Ignatief’s scholarly (and I use that term loosely) writings before he entered into politics and you’ll find that even he comes dangerously close to this etymology of the word Fascism and he isn’t even as right wing as, say, Stockwell Day.
I hate to sound like one of those people who hammer everyone about proportional representation, but it’s probably one of the only ways to get some more diversity in our political choice. Under the current system, if you don’t vote for one of the big brokerage parties your vote really doesn’t matter.
Dan – I agree with you 100% about the need for proportional representation and I have discussed this at length here:
http://paulitics.wordpress.com/2007/02/22/on-changing-our-electoral-system/
I still don’t know, however, if I fully understand the nature of your comment that it is necessary to examine the left-right spectrum from a parochial, “regional point of view”.
Paul,
That was a different Dan who posted above. I need a more original screen name.
Ah, gotcha. That makes a lot more sense now.