President Obama is desperately trying to convince Americans he is not a Socialist. For Canadians, this becomes a confusing paradox, or a statement that is logically unacceptable, senseless or a self-contradiction. Canada has a rich history of Socialism and Social Democracy. The platform of Socialism is widely known and accepted as a legitimate force in Canadian politics: wealth redistribution, central planning, nationalization of industry, elitism among the political class, national health care, the favoritism toward trade unions, the embrace of International Socialism as opposed to National Socialism (the experiment that failed so miserably in Germany) and control of energy and natural resources have been and always will be benchmarks of the International Socialist Movement. A Canadian must ask of Obama, why does he hide the nature of his convictions or does he lack the courage of his convictions?
In Canada, during the Great Depression of 1929 to 1939, (1929 to 1942 in the US, because of FDR’s New Deal), the Communist Party of Canada had a period of popularity and influence.
In 1935, 1,448 Canadians were recruited by the Communist Party of Canada to fight for the Communists in the Spanish Civil War against Franco. Designated the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion, they fought alongside the International Brigades including the Abraham Lincoln Brigade from the US. The Canadians fought heroically and had at least 721 men killed in action.
The most famous Canadian was Dr Norman Bethune, a surgeon who invented the first mobile medical unit. He would later be killed in the second Sino-Japanese War while aiding the Chinese. He is considered a national hero in China and was a personal friend of Mao. These Canadian Communists, regardless of their political philosophy, had the courage of their convictions and were willing to die for them.
Eventually, the Communist Party was replaced with the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF); A Democrat Socialist Party from the prairies with roots in the Christian Left and Social Gospel, it ultimately became the most influential proponent for Socialism in Canada. The CCF eventually consolidated union support and was elected to provincial power in Saskatchewan in 1944.
In 1961, the CCF joined with the Canadian Labour Congress to form the New Democrat Party or NDP; the Socialist platform became more moderate: thus the goal of Socialism became to modify and reform the Free Market, rather than to abolish it.
The NDP has been successful in forming Provincial governments in BC, Yukon, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Nova Scotia; currently, there are NDP governments in Manitoba and Nova Scotia and the NDP is the second largest party in BC and Saskatchewan.
Within the Federal Government, the NDP has managed to exert influence over several minority governments including the Liberal Government of Pierre Trudeau during 1972-1974. During this period, Canada formed a national oil company, Petro Canada and forever more Canadians pay a nickel more for every liter of gasoline they purchase, while waiting to realize the advantage of subsidizing a national oil company.
In the International World of Socialism, there has been secrecy and drama: Lenin, while on his deathbed wrote an article to the Twelfth Congress portraying and condemning Stalin’s authoritarianism and absolutism. Stalin, Trotsky, and Molotov declared Lenin to be mentally ill and condensed the article; the actual contents of the article were kept secret until 1956, three years after Stalin’s death.
Of course being a Socialist leader in Europe, Canada, or the US is much safer than being a leader in Russia or China; it is always easy to recognize the Socialist Party Platform, it varies only marginally from one group to another, the core beliefs are there: wealth redistribution, state ownership of industry and resources, central planning and control, nationalized health care, and reformation or abolishment of the Free Market and the Profit Motive.
President Obama, your platform and policies are obvious to the world: rather than hiding your political philosophy like a self conscious whore in church, be honest Sir, the world will respect you more. Stand up and have the courage of your convictions, ‘shout out’ to the world, “Yes, I am Socialism”.
A professional horseman for over 50 years, Skook continues to work with horses. Skook has finished an historical novel, Fifty Thousand Years, that traces a mitochondrial line of DNA from 50,000 years ago to the present. The story follows a line of courageous women, from the Ice Ages to the present, as they meet the challenges of survival with grit and creativity. These are not women who whimper of being victims, they meet the challenges of survival as women who use their abilities without excuses or remorse, these women are winners, they are our ancestors.
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