Vote Wiser

The liberal party of Canada is about to choose a leader. Several candidates have been presenting themselves as the best person to deal with Trump, as if the only issue is the crazy adversary next door. Meanwhile, looking ahead to the federal election, we see the conservative leader unsure whether to throw his darts at Trump or Carney, and the liberals  suggesting that Poilievre is a miniMAGA. Insinuations, insults, reducing the debate to distrust of personalities: is this how we decide who to vote for in a modern democracy?

Yesterday we watched an interesting TVO interview of Margaret Atwood, Democracy Under Her Eye, in which she described (among other things) a map of modes of governance. At the top she put Tyranny, at the bottom Chaos. At the left, there is the Left, and at the right, ... you guessed it. Her idea is that Tyranny is approachable from either the Left or the Right. So is Chaos. Neither side gets the high ground. So far, so good.

Of course she didn't elaborate because it was an interview and there were other questions to answer. We might look closer at her map. 

If I'm not mistaken, Tyranny means absolute control and Chaos would be absolute absence of control. Tyranny could be further characterized as autocracy, oligarchy, monarchy, fascist, totalitarian, draconian, communist (subjugation of the individual by the collective), the majority disrespecting minorities, elitist, cronyism. Chaos is similarly diffuse: egoism, lawlessness, anarchism, anarcho-primitivism, insurrection, revolution, disruptive activism.

The distinction between Left and Right is also unclear; but we might clarify by adding other dimensions. Progressive vs conservative, cooperative vs competitive, thoughtful vs dogmatic, collectivist vs individualist, rational vs intuitive, responsible vs free, nationalist vs globalist, skeptical vs gullible, evidence based vs fanciful, concern for present well-being vs the future. We would find the Left and Right laying claim to these characteristics in various degrees and combinations. 

A map with four poles joined by two spokes is too simple. Reality is more like a wheel with many pairs of opposites on the rim joined by many spokes along each of which a government may be positioned dynamically depending on the issues at hand. This wheel has no hub, no centre, since no government stands midway in each dimension. It's complicated. Using the terms Tyranny, Chaos, Left and Right could lead to lazy partisan politics, insults, slogans, attack ads, easy labels to distinguish Us (the enlightened righteous) from Them (the evil unenlightened). The labels are distractions. Ignore the cynical rhetoric.

We should look closer.
We can vote wiser.

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David Frum on Trump and America's Place in the World. Sean Speer, The Hub Canada, March 4 2025