Politics
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We Don’t Revile Dictators
There exists a myth in Western societies that individuals have strong philosophical and ideological convictions against dictatorships. It is comforting to think that within oneself and one’s neighbours sits a moral arbiter ready to cast out the impulses that made possible history’s worst tragedies. The disheartening reality, however, is that there is in most people a…
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The Conservatives, the People’s Party, and the Search for the Conservative Soul
With the formation of the People’s Party of Canada (PPC) comes the possibility of a new schism in Canada’s Conservative movement. Maxime Bernier’s foundling party has yet to do significant damage to the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) over two elections, but the very existence of the PPC raises old ghosts and new questions. For…
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The Seductive Dictator in the Western Mind, Part 1
There exists a myth in Western societies that individuals have strong philosophical and ideological convictions against dictatorships. It is comforting to think that within oneself and one’s neighbours sits a moral arbiter ready to cast out the impulses that made possible history’s worst tragedies. The disheartening reality, however, is that in most people lurks a…
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The Seductive Dictator in the Western Mind, Part 2
In this two part series, it is argued that the appeal of dictatorships is deeply embedded in Western thought. Part 1 discusses examples of democratic institutions or movements being discarded in favour of autocratic governance. Part 2, below, examines the ideological and intellectual foundations for non-democratic forms of governance, and in closing discusses the modern…
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Michael Flynn Salad Dressing Story Is Why People Distrust the Media
If the presidency of Donald Trump revealed one thing, it is that there is deep-seated mistrust of American media among significant percentages of the electorate. And while it is common to believe that distrust in the media is a largely American problem, there is evidence that Canadians are moving in the same direction. The Michael…
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Televised Debates Are Useless: Jagmeet Singh Showed Us Why
There has been an increasing awareness in recent years of the silliness of televised political debates. This dissatisfaction is fueled in part by growing awareness of alternative models of political discourse, notably the long-form Joe Rogan interviews of politicians such as Bernie Sanders and Tulsi Gabbard. Hearing in-depth conversations in a more accountable setting draws…
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A Savage Society
Society, nation – all of these abstractions that represent our stratospheric human interaction – must be subordinate to the sovereignty of the individual…