Page 1 of 1

A wave of conservatism?

Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 4:55 pm
by kiryan
This article on canda got me thinking. For the first time ever canada will have a solidly conservative government (lower taxes, up military). I remember reading in about 2006 how they were starting to move conservative. The UK moved in a conservative direction about the same time and has been talking about moving away from the welfare state, although they have recently suffered election set backs. Merckel of Germany was considered a rise of conservatism. You could construe the happenings in Tunsia, Egypt and Libya as conservative movements considering their religious composition although certainly a different kind of conservatism.

I'd love to say its a natural reaction to liberal policies and unsustainable policies... but I wonder if it has more to do with the loss of confidence in the global markets / system or a general disaffection for the state / direction of the world or even a directed/grassroots element... and as such a retreat to conservative principles. (although people facing adversity tend to retreat to what they know so in Canada, they should retreat to liberal policies not lower taxes). Could it be the media coverage of the wars in afghanistan and iraq (conflict)?

I highly doubt all these countries reached the same tipping point at the same time yet it does seem to be a fairly global phenomenon which only makes sense to me if there was a relatively recent move towards liberalism. Could it have been the initial reactions to the wars in afghanistan and iraq pushing people towards liberalism then a swing back to conservatism?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/0 ... 56747.html

He has gradually lowered sales and corporate taxes, avoided climate change legislation, promoted Arctic sovereignty, upped military spending and extended Canada's military mission in Afghanistan.

The leftist New Democratic Party was projected to become the main opposition party for the first time in Canadian history with 106 seats, in a stunning setback for the Liberals who have always been either in power or leading the opposition.

== out of 308 seats

Re: A wave of conservatism

Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 5:36 pm
by Kindi
the back and forth looks more like coin flips than a pendulum to me

Re: A wave of conservatism

Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 6:28 pm
by kiryan
So you saw a swing towards liberalism? I saw it in the US... but not the rest of the world (or I am selectively forgetting it).

If you think its more like a coin flip, why was the coin flipped again.

Given how violently the pendulum is swinging back, it should indicate A) how far to the left it had swung or B) that it had swung recently to be swinging back so quickly/pervasively.