Wither the NDP?
Mr. Stefaniuk over at the Sask Citizens Federation makes the argument that others have made over the years that the NDP should either merge with the liberals or "re-brand" as a true left-of-center party.
In my opinion Tommy Douglas would ask us - as new democrats - what are we doing?
The CCF was formed in 1932
31 years laster in 1961 the NDP was formed.
It is now 41 years later
Wouldn't Douglas be asking if we succeeded?
And wouldn't our answer have to be no?
We have never formed even the official opposition - never mind the government.
Douglas would say that we have failed. He would urge us to think bigger, to dream no little dream, to reach inside ourselves and make a change that we might not be comfortable with.
Just like he did in 1961.
We have all heard the Benjamin Franklin quote "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results". I think that Tommy would agree.
Just like he did in 1961.
I think it is time to take a lesson from, of all people, Preston Manning. We on the left need to unite the left and create a winning coalition.
I am calling on the NDP, the Green Party, the Bloq (without the separatist angle) and the Liberals, the former PROGRESSIVE conservatives and others too think about this.
What unites us is more important that what divides us.
The Greens will object because they are just becoming prominent and don't want to lose that.
The Bloq cannot give up separatism.
The Liberals cannot give up their arrogance and belief that they are the natural governing party.
The NDP cannot give up the notion that we are the only voice for the left and ideological purity means more than forming government.
All of us will continue to fight among ourselves while the Conservatives grow stronger.
I want a progressive party, one that speaks to my values and has a reasonable chance of forming government.
I don't have that right now. The NDP speak to my values but cannot form a government. The Liberals can form a government but cannot speak to my values.
I am prepared to compromise and work together with other like-minded people to find the common ground and move forward. Naturaly this will be viewed by the NDP as "selling out"
The cheep seats always win in our party.
read part II
6 comments:
Douglas would say that we have failed. He would urge us to think bigger, to dream no little dream, to reach inside ourselves and make a change that we might not be comfortable with.
Just like he did in 1961.
Do you have any evidence to support your speculation?
Douglas was asked in 1970 if he thought he'd wasted his life because the NDP had yet to achieve power in Ottawa.
Do you know what his response was in 1970?
"Sometimes people say to me, ‘Do you feel your life has been wasted? The New Democratic Party has not come to power in Ottawa.’ And I look back and think that a boy from a poor home on the wrong side of the tracks in Winnipeg was given the privilege of being part of a movement that has changed Canada. In my lifetime I have seen it change Canada."
Yes, Yes, I know, the NDP has always had "influence". But let me ask this - would the NDP have been able to use its influence to get medicare if Douglas hadn't already been in power in Sask?
And more importantly, if just hvaing influence was enough and the CCF got us such things as old age pensions then why did he support the change to the NDP?
And furthermore Do we have that level of influence any more? What was the last great victory for the NPD and don't give me the crap about the better balanced budget.
Thanks for the interesting thoughts jf.
"Are we relying on outdated ideas? In fact, does the party even have an ideology? If yes, what is it? What should it be? Who's our base? Labour? Is labour still relevant in the 21st century? Environmentalists? Isn't that the Green Party? Social democrats or socialists? Both wings regularly want to expulse each other. Progressives? What the hell is a progressive? Etc., etc."
These are the types of questions that I am struggling with.
I think I am going to start with "what is a progressive?". My next couple of posts are going to be on this topic.
As for merging with the entire Liberal Party that is not going to happen. But I want to attempt to lay out a philosophy that can reconcile the need for power (Liberal) with the need for values (NDP) and my hope would be that there is a compromise somewhere so that the NDP and left-leanding Liberals can work together.
I'm very much looking forward to read your reflections on the subject! :D
I don't think one big party would be a good idea. These catch-all parties always end up waffling to the right. You would end up with a Canuck version of the Democrats, which would be a disaster for Canada. Having a party in parliament that takes a principled stance on important issues is what separates us from the semi-totalitarian system south of us. I do agree however, that vote splitting should end. The three parties should work together to keep the Neocons out, then form a coalition government of LIberals, Greens and NDP. This is what they do in Europe and is one of the reasons the ravages of the extreme right are much less.
Just read JF's comment. Thoughtful as ever! I think it importantv to recall how revitalization comes about in a party. It often comes from below and outside. I remember back in the late 1960's. We now had medical insurance, the NDP had fulfillied its historical role as creator of Canada's "welfare state." At that time the party loooked a bit worn around the edges. But over the course of the next few years the party adopted a series of ideas taken from the New Left such as feminism and environmentalism. The party was renewed until the 1990s when it began to buckle under the neoliberal onslaught. Today the party looks frayed again. Maybe it is time to take some ideas from the New New Left, ie the present social movements which emphasize opposition to corporatist globalism, and believe that we should have a revitalized and truly participatory democracy. Why not emphasize the "democracy" part of the NDP?
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