Why are so many North Americans liberal?

It may have to do with their desire to avoid the burdens of free choice

In the words of Eric Hoffer, “freedom of choice places the whole blame of failure on the shoulders of the individual.” That is where it should be.

Liberals don’t value freedom of choice, they want to be cared for by the state. They don’t want the burden of self-sufficiency since they fear they will be unable to cope. In a successful economy like Canada, and having achieved most of their goals and feeling spoiled and wasted, they want equality more than they want freedom.

Equality is a laudable but impossible goal. Every parent wants their child to do better than other children in sports or in school, and every worker wants their income to rise faster than the rate of inflation. Sociologist Vilifredo Pareto long ago demonstrated that inequality was endemic in all countries regardless of their form of government. It is the nature of effort that some will succeed and others not.

Democrats share this toxic outcome with Liberals.

Both Liberals in Canada and Democrats in the United States seem hostile to the family. They undermine the role of parents, want the state to feed, educate and even entertain our children, have made it easier to divorce and promote “freedom of choice” - a euphemism for legislating the right of women to kill the unborn for their own convenience rather than only when there is a threat to their own health and well-being or that of the unborn child. They seek meaning by pretending that CO2 causes climate change and they can protest, tax or legislate to curb the use of fossil fuels (which are cheap, reliable, and do not cause climate change) which gives their lives meaning without accountability. They know it is impossible to hold them to account for global events over which they have no control and which are virtually impossible to measure.

About half of the population of United States and a similar fraction (if not larger) in Canada are either Liberal or farther left.

The attraction of liberalism is akin to the attraction of Communism. The individual can look to others for his livelihood and safety and bear no responsibility for success or failure. The mechanics that make this appear sustainable are to impose a greater financial burden on those who do take the risks of success or failure and succeed. Progressive income taxes are well-accepted by both liberals and conservatives as a way to bring more balance into social outcomes, but liberals call the corporations (that create the jobs, carry out the innovation that enhances productivity, and employ the workforce) “greedy” as if the profit (which is the lifeblood of a corporation) were a dirty word.

The predictable mantra of leftist governements is well known - tax the rich, regulate corporations, borrow from future generations, increase the size of government and intrude more deeply into the lives of citizens and the acts of corporations. These are key elements of Liberal and Democrat policies in North America. Ignore the inescapable reality that sovereign debt must be repaid by future generations or rendered repayable through inflation which effectively reduces the debt. Leave aside and studiously ignore that inflation is a tax on the poorest in society and is similar to corporate taxation in that the burden is placed on the consumer, not on the rich or the corporate entities.

Liberal policies are thus circular. Stand up for people, “have their backs”, protect the vulnerable, and and redistribute income are liberal slogans, but liberal policies actually tax the poor and transfer wealth to the rich. It is this reality which explains why titans of industry are more often Democrats than Republicans.

Liberals support the World Economic Forum (“WEF”), a dangerous club that meets annually in Davos, its members flying there primarily by private jet, and toasting the billions the billionaires attending have made while promoting a global socialist “new world order” where the benefits of their ideology can be inflicted on the entire world.

The ideology? A new world order of international socialism. Fairness, equity, equality, sustainability, cooperation, “stakeholder capitalism” - these buzzwords are used by the WEF to peddle its ideology, a bit like evangelical Christians peddling heaven and life after death to rally support for their faith, and of course, to raise funds. The “Great Reset” is not utopia, it is subordinating personal freedom to the common good with “common good” defined by those in power. Marx, Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin all sold the same feel-good drivel as they turned society on its head and killed tens of millions of their citizens along the way.

Utopia is not societal, it is personal. Find a place you are happy and go there and let others find their own. Personal responsibility, individual freedom, free speech, freedom of assembly, small government, low taxes, minimal regulation - these are the elements of a real utopia. Look after yourself, don’t pretend you are a victim, look after yourself and your family, and don’t make your problems my problems. Is that too much to ask for?