Sunday, January 10, 2010

What it meant to be conservative in pre-Confederation Canada

This evening I have been reading several documents relating to the origins of Confederation in Canada. One item I was reading was a speech by Antoine-Aimé Dorion, a Quebec politician who was opposed to the terms of confederation as they were eventually implemented. The following is a great passage from his 1865 speech outlining his position on Confederation

It is but natural that gentlemen with the views of the honourable gentlemen opposite want to keep as much power as possible in the hands of the Government - that is the doctrine of the Conservative party everywhere - that is the line which distinguishes the tories from the whigs - the tories always side with the Crown, and the Liberals always want to give more power and influence to the people.


If you are interested in reading the entire speech, which isn't too long, you can find it here.

What I think is so great about this passage is that it effectively demonstrates how meaningless 'conservative' is as a word without the context in which it was used. Generally, it is one of those words that I think is over-used and tends to lead to more confusion than clarification when introduced to a conversation.

Because it has been a bit of a theme recently, Montifax is coming out against the word 'conservative' (when used in reference to a political position or ideology). We encourage people to use more descriptive words that really get a what they are trying to say.

3 comments:

Rebecca said...

It seems that Montifax has become very opinionated...coming out against all sorts of things.

What has brought this change? Montifax getting crotchety in its old age?

Cameron said...

I think it is trying to move beyond its staid, domestic origins. Maybe if enough positions are taken we will not only generate discussion but also start to develop some kind of identifiable voice or position (if I allow myself to over imagine Montifax's position in the blogosphere and the size of its readership).

Kathy said...

I enjoyed reading this. Well put.