A cautious step into partisanship

As I have often said, I am not a very partisan person. This is mostly because there is no existing party in this country which comes close to my own political persuasion, which might be described as christian democratic. That said, I have decided to become a member of a political party for the first time in my life. I have just applied for membership in the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, primarly to support the candidacy of Jim Flaherty as party leader. Why? I have no illusions about the principled nature of the party itself, despite the presence of a statement of principles on the application form. But Flaherty has a number of things going for him, primarily an acquaintance with and sympathy for the Catholic principle of subsidiarity and the Reformed Christian principle of sphere sovereignty, both of which, though rooted in different social ontologies, have similar implications for the relationship between state and nonstate communities.  As Gideon Strauss put it, after hearing Flaherty's speech at the Royal Botanical Gardens last December,

Jim Flaherty's political philosophy is a blend of fiscal conservative pragmatism and Burkean small-platoon conservatism. His concern for character and community, especially in its most intimate setting, the family, incline him positively towards the neocalvinist idea of sphere sovereignty and the Roman Catholic idea of subsidiarity. I do not doubt that Mr. Flaherty knows how to bend his speech to suit his audience. But I think there is more going on here than rhetorical sophistry.

Flaherty favours reinstating the recently repealed tax credit for parents of children in independent schools. He rightly understands the dangers to religious freedom posed by an overreaching judiciary captivated by a narrowly individualistic conception of rights. He also values the place of entrepreneurial initiative in the province's economy.

I do hope, however, that Flaherty will not follow the example of some of his fellow Conservatives and vilify the state and its normative task of doing public justice. The welfare state, when fine-tuned to avoid subsidizing irresponsible behaviour, has a legitimate role to play in softening the harsh edges of a market economy and caring for the vulnerable. This is something social democrats are more easily able to see than self-styled conservatives.

So, while Flaherty is no philosopher-king and likely has a number of flaws -- which may become painfully evident when and if he becomes premier -- my prudential (if fallible) judgement at this moment in time is that Flaherty is worthy of support.