To: Kitskid who wrote (357 ) 11/19/2000 9:46:00 AM From: Stocker Read Replies (1) | Respond to Interesting that Stan Persky of the Vancouver Sun says here........ The Alliance ideas about society are straightforward. They're for fundamentalist religion, against abortion, against homosexuality, against public support for culture, against the CBC and against an independent Supreme Court. They're for privatizing education and medical care, for capital punishment, for unregulated guns and for allowing the marketplace near-absolute free rein. In a sense, it's a shame that the Alliance can't be forthright about the ideas they believe in, and instead fudge their views with muddled talk of referenda and a pretence of fiscal moderation. It's not only a shame, it's duplicitous. I don't agree with most of their views, but their ideas are perfectly legitimate. They're also perfectly frightening. So where do we go from here? If government social engineering lead to negative consequences, how do we turn things around? Let me suggest to you what is not the answer: it is no solution to try to use the power of the state to promote traditional values. Government must exist to nurture and respect healthy social institutions, but it is as mistaken to attempt conservative social engineering as it is to attempt liberal social engineering. Conservatism does not require big government solutions to achieve its objectives. I think we will find that if government stops promoting negative and counterproductive social behaviour, that people themselves will respond, and human action will change in a positive direction of its own accord. But not all issues are resolved as easily as giving a tax break. A few
