Space-Cowboy
July 29th, 2005, 06:13 AM
It seems to me that the Canadian system does a better job of weeding out the 'extremists' than the American system. The most hardline rightwing people we've had have been those such as Mulroney, Stockwell Day, Steven Harper, etc. and these guys are pretty tame compared to many US Republicans.....
In the American system, it seems to me, that when a hardliner comes to power [for either the extreme left or extreme right] they can really put a wrench in the system. Those who are extremely liberal on the economic front have been known to [and are continuing to] basically bend over to the will of the corporations, whilst the extremely conservative seek nothing more than to limit international trade [effectively driving the economy to a halt].
In the Canadian system, the government, over its history, has in general learned to enjoy a happy medium. Our socio-capitalism is so far the BEST system in the world, and the way that the government is structured, people HAVE the power and exercise the power to prevent would be hardliners from messing with the system [or at least the govt. seems better able to learn from its mistakes].
So far on the MORAL front, it seems that the govt. is structured in a way that, even if hardline conservatives wanted to impose laws on the lifestyles of individuals, they'd have an extremely hard time getting bills passed... Which makes sense, we're like the third nation to allow same sex marriage, which many of the conservatives continue to battle, a losing struggle as it is.
I know these might not exactly be the best examples, but it just seems to me that in the Canadian system we find less idiotic moves made by the govt. The govt. seems better able to actually LISTEN to the peoples' demands instead of completely overriding them, which has happened many times in the U.S.
What troubles me is not knowing whether or not our system is better because of the mentality of Canadians vs the Americans, or whether our system IS genuinely more thorough and more 'fool' proof than that of our neighbours to the south.
In the American system, it seems to me, that when a hardliner comes to power [for either the extreme left or extreme right] they can really put a wrench in the system. Those who are extremely liberal on the economic front have been known to [and are continuing to] basically bend over to the will of the corporations, whilst the extremely conservative seek nothing more than to limit international trade [effectively driving the economy to a halt].
In the Canadian system, the government, over its history, has in general learned to enjoy a happy medium. Our socio-capitalism is so far the BEST system in the world, and the way that the government is structured, people HAVE the power and exercise the power to prevent would be hardliners from messing with the system [or at least the govt. seems better able to learn from its mistakes].
So far on the MORAL front, it seems that the govt. is structured in a way that, even if hardline conservatives wanted to impose laws on the lifestyles of individuals, they'd have an extremely hard time getting bills passed... Which makes sense, we're like the third nation to allow same sex marriage, which many of the conservatives continue to battle, a losing struggle as it is.
I know these might not exactly be the best examples, but it just seems to me that in the Canadian system we find less idiotic moves made by the govt. The govt. seems better able to actually LISTEN to the peoples' demands instead of completely overriding them, which has happened many times in the U.S.
What troubles me is not knowing whether or not our system is better because of the mentality of Canadians vs the Americans, or whether our system IS genuinely more thorough and more 'fool' proof than that of our neighbours to the south.