Last week in this column I wrote about ideology and political parties. I said that ideology is a kind of framework though which individuals can make sense of the relationship among the state, the society and the individual. I argued that sometimes party names do not really match the ideology of their namesake. For example, political parties that call themselves conservative often draw from classical liberalism which is generally about property owners having some protection from the state and from other property owners. In classical liberalism, equality exists when we are all equal under the law.
The ideology of liberalism began to change when some liberals argued that equality could be better achieved if there was "equality of opportunity." In other words, "reform liberals" think that it is important for the state to help make individuals equal by reducing the barriers that may keep them from participating in the economy and in civil society.
In this case, the state is more than an arbiter of property. Its role is to design policy aimed at helping individuals who may be disadvantaged by their circumstances. These policies allow individuals or groups to make choices that otherwise might not be available to them. For example, one might not be able to attend post-secondary education because of limited financial resources. In reform liberal ideology, if the state decides that a public good can be had by making it possible for individuals to attend post-secondary education, then they will provide resources for this "good." It can become problematic if, like some classical liberals believe, the state begins to determine the "good" too often.
Reform liberalism is best represented by the Liberal Party of Canada; in this case I mean the federal Liberals. They assert the ideas of reform liberalism when they say, "The Liberal Party of Canada believes that when individuals and families are given the opportunity to succeed, the economy grows and Canadians become stronger. That's why equality of opportunity is a fundamental Liberal principle." Note the language of this citation; they say, "are given the opportunity to succeed." By this they mean that the state (the party) chooses which obstacles to reduce or eliminate to make it possible for individuals to succeed. Reform liberals are more likely to "redistribute" tax dollars to make these choices possible.
The Liberal Party of Canada is currently in a bit of a crisis as it tries to sort out its leadership problems. Yet their challenges go beyond leadership; they must find a way to articulate the ideas of reform liberalism without being confused with the New Democratic Party who also appear to assert similar ideas about the role of government. Yet the NDP represents the ideology of social democracy: social democrats want the state to be responsible for a much wider range of public goods and they are concerned with equality of outcome, not just opportunity.
The B.C. Liberals are actually more difficult to pin down. They represent both a classical liberal and a reform liberal tradition but they also embody elements of British Columbia's political culture. They say, "The BC Liberal Party believes that British Columbians can thrive if we stay united. We believe that government must help create a strong economy to provide a foundation for the diverse families that call our province home. We are a free enterprise party that is committed to open government." We can see here elements of classical liberalism when they describe themselves as a "free enterprise party" but they still have a strong sense of the state's role in providing a foundation to help and assist families. In other words, they want to redistribute taxes in such a way as to reduce obstacles so families can live well.
One might argue that this internal struggle with ideology has been at the centre of the recent friction within the party. From the time that Christy Clark became the leader she has struggled to balance these two competing ideas about which type of liberalism the party wants to advance. While Clark herself is more reform liberal and thus more "centrist," she has had to try to deal with those defecting to the Conservative Party who want her to represent a more right-wing position. This is actually a reflection of the stark contrast in BC's political culture which makes it difficult to take a centrist position. The fact is that political parties are not just ideological they also exist in the real world of politics.
