Conservatives Don't Hate Democracy, They Just Don't Need It

In Canada our representatives are elected; our churches, charities, and businesses are not. Conservatives by their ideology believe that less power should be given to our democratically elected government and more power given to groups that do not answer to voters, whether they be private hospitals, unaccountable church organizations, or multinational corporations. It is not that Conservatives hate democracy, it is that their ideology demands less of it.

Conservatives rally against coalitions, but coalitions of elected MPs are more democratic than private hospitals. Conservatives fought against the Canadian Wheat Board, but a board of elected officials is more democratic than a world market. Conservatives want private organizations to replace government social programs, but our Parliament is more democratic than churches. Conservatives believe a free market is the best method for organizing the economy, but our House of Commons is more democratic than any stock exchange.

In wanting a small government, Conservatives want a small democracy with less power given to a citizen's vote, and more power given to unelected corporations, appointed churches, insulated social organizations, and other unaccountable industries.

Conservatives cannot believe that democracy is so great when they only reduce the government it exists in.