In Choosing A Title

Since I'm just starting out with this whole blogging thing I feel the need to give some insights into who I am politically. What better way to do so than by exploring the name-choice for my blog? It's a good way of immediately addressing certain questions that may arise regarding my own political nature.

In choosing a title for my blog I wished to convey as much as I could about my own political beliefs, as I understand them, with as few words as possible. Language is hugely complicated. A single word can have various meanings, interpretations, and connotations to many people. When choosing loaded terms like the labels Progressive and Conservative one runs the risk of explaining very little and raising a thousand questions. I do feel that the title, A Progressive Conservative View, gets to the heart of who I am politically and how I intend to approach the subjects I discuss.

Please notice my wondrous employment of the brackets to encase my progressive label. I'm not quite sure if it's a bit of shame, my latent and inappropriate latching onto a trend in academic writing, or a caveat for those who shudder when they read the term without brackets. Practically, it's intended to emphasize the conservative part.

I suppose to many I'd be considered partisan. I became politically active at an almost oddly young age and have been fascinated since. This fascination has led me to learn my own politics quickly and thoroughly. It brought me to an understanding that I generally fall somewhere within the top right corner of the political compass. I always support parties of the “center-right” and I am ideologically opposed to the principles of socialism.

The most fundamental aspect to my understanding of myself as a conservative is expressed in the conservative approach to materialism. Conservatives stand for the idea of equality of opportunity. Something I fervently believe in with every fiber of my being. This is presented in opposition to Karl Marx, and socialist thinkera, who advocate for the equality of results. A principle which on its very superficial surface is appealing but in its practical realization is completely wrong. I believe humans in our inherently unique desires, capabilities, and personalities are entitled to equality of opportunity (the right to be all that we wish to be) but to insist that we are all equally entitled to the same results, given all of our differences, is absurd and unfair. It is this principle ideal of socialism that, although its advocates preach equality, is most truly unequal. Socialism, in this way, is practically applied to our society in the institutions of unions and affirmative action. It is also consistently advocated by socialists in the form of fuller income redistribution. I feel that all of these things are inherently unfair.

The progressive part of the title I chose for my blog relates to my idea of progress and the role it should play in society. I believe in equality. I believe that economic and social equality can be most fully achieved by granting people as great a level of freedom as possible. I also feel that our institutions can play a role in bringing about this freedom. In the face of change, sometimes, new institutions may be required or old ones may need to be reshaped in order to fit societies needs. Therefore, I accept the need for a welfare state to operate on some levels. I am proud of universal healthcare. I'm not, however, fearful of private healthcare. I fundamentally believe in the capacity of humanity to continue to progress; to continue to achieve greater things and to become more full in our ability to love and care for one another.

I feel that Christianity, both in an acknowledgment of its historical role in shaping western ideas and this nation as well as an institution today, is important to a Canadian identity.

Together, on the surface, the terms may seem to be in conflict. To me they seem a practical fit for my own beliefs and ideas. Certainly, as a political party's name it is too specific and confusing. I much prefer the title Conservative for a party. It's a big-tent name for a big-tent party. A party of all sorts of hyphenated conservatives. I hope that makes it a bit more clear where I am coming from!