YTMNDief: What is Red Toryism?
Created on: June 2nd, 2007
Yes it's a fad, but this is sufficiently different dammit. Because I said so!
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"Red Tories are often simply characterized as the left wing faction of the contemporary Conservative party, or a Conservative committed to the welfare state and/or liberal social policy." - It's mind boggling that the 'conservative' party can be for welfare and liberal social policy. They sound more like socialists to me. Downvoting because I disagree with their ideas.
Hmm... legitimate down voeting, eh? I haven't seen any of that in some time. Well, one would say that the state and society as a whole needs support, and that red tories provide that support. Though I will admit that partisan differences weaken red toryism, but these are three uncompromized red tories, with the exception of Davis' senile years, anyway, good rationalle and thank you for the comment.
The term "conservative" has been so twisted by recent administrations in both Canada and the United States that it has become an arbitrary term. The U.S.'s 2 party system has led many people in the English speaking world to assume that the political spectrum is a dichotomy. There is far more to political ideology than simply right wing/left wing.
There is such a thing as being socially liberal, yet economically conservative, or socially conservative, yet economically liberal. Both are conservatives in a sense, but conservative in different ways. Most Westminister-style governments (UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) use the term "Liberal" today in a way that generally conveys liberal social policies yet conservative economic policies. Americans have somehow dirtied the word Liberal to make it mean something negative.
The dangers inherent in having a political system in which the Liberal party was so close to the Red Tories became evident during the 1990s, when the Progressive Conservative party of Canada all but ceased to exist, dropping to a miserable low of only two seats in the face of Reform Party pressure and the fact that there really was no longer much difference at all between the Liberal party and the Red Tories. Of course, the Campbell years weren't exactly positive for the PCs, either... 5'd for Canada.
The dangers I referred to were toward the party that housed the Red Tories rather than the country as a whole, of course. Mind you, the concept of being economically liberal (in the classical sense) yet favouring certain social policies seems a rather contradictory development of the reform liberalism espoused by J.S. Mill during his later years and by others; certainly one would expect that there should be a wealth redistribution factor involved, something which is hard to pull off with a neoliberal
economic policy such as those favoured by the Red Tories. Of course, as I am not a Red Tory but rather a regular, "blue" Tory, perhaps it's better to have the comment of someone who might understand their ideals rather more. Obviously the appeal of a working economic system along with rationalist social policies (as opposed to traditionalist) is understandable. Maybe it's a whole new movement beyond reform liberalism. Probably this is the wrong forum to discuss this matter, though.
I can't really give as articulate and lengthy a response to your post in reply, as I have not slept in 32 hours (I hate heatwaves.) So I will merely quote, as did Diefenbaker, Wordsworth: "Tis the true conservative who knows when to lop the mouldering branch away."
Also, I believe you may be onto something when you use the phrase: "Obviously the appeal of a working economic system along with rationalist social policies (as opposed to traditionalist)..." to define classical or British radical conservatism.
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