The battle of ideas

Glen Pearson, though not a distinterested observer, sets up the central theme of this new session of Parliament thusly.

So, while you’re hearing all the hoopla that political parties and the media fixate on over the weeks ahead, try to consider the “quiet crisis” that is really at play in today’s Ottawa.  It’s about your way of life and whether it becomes more private and self-centered, or whether it applies itself to the serious public problems that threaten the collective health of this country, and the planet, at present.  Either way, it’s decision time.

If the leaders of the Liberal and Conservative parties stick to their respective stump speeches there are at least the makings of a grand philosophical battle over the most appropriate role for the state at the start of the second decade of the 21st century.