Dispatch Box: Red Toryism
We have lived through an era of Blue Conservatism with the Harper government. With the aftermath of that administration, is Red Toryism dead or merely subdued?
The term “Red Toryism” is used to describe conservatives who, while generally advocating the virtues of individualism, free enterprise, private property, and the centrality of the private sector in the economy, believe that social and economic life has an important collectivist component. Red Tories usually define that element in terms of nationalism or provincialism, the felt ties of shared history, culture, tradition, identity, and interests that connect people to one another in ways that transcend individualist relations.
The nation, or the province, as a collective whole is given a special place in Red Tory thought: its long-term interests should always be a priority for those living within that collectivity. While the private sector provides a vital way to serve the well-being of the nation or province, if it proves either unwilling or unable, then the state itself should do so, as the collective representation of the nation or province.
Although no one ever called Prime Minister Stephen Harper a Red Tory, many significant features in Canadian life possess Red Tory roots:
- the monarchy in Canada;
- parliamentary tradition;
- an appointed Senate;
- entities such as the CBC, the National Film Board, and the Canadian Wheat Board;
- provincially owned wine/beer/liquor stores;
- federal restrictions on handgun ownership;
- a public health care system; and
- federal and provincial regional economic development agencies
Can you think of other examples?
