The essence of liberalism is an attempt to secure a social order not based on irrational dogma, and insuring stability without involving more restraints than are necessary for the preservation of the community.
That quote, Professor Morton, seems to fit well with this one, regarding half-way houses -- "Establishing residential centres to facilitate the transition from prison door to normal life is a major break-through in the ADVANCEMENT of correctional practices. On behalf of all Canadians who believe in the freedom and DIGNITY of the individual, I endorse the good work of the St. Leonard's Society." ...Pierre Elliott Trudeau...(Capitals-mine. Found on the Society's website, with their mission statement.) What we have now in government policy is an absolute regression in spite of concrete evidence. When the CONS cancelled the Life-Line programme, where 'lifers' helped other lifers navigate their way out here, it was a big step backward. The CONS mean-spiritedness is what's behind the cut-backs. It was a small amount of money well-spent. More punitve measures are being added on wherever the Cons can find a way--and that's disgraceful.
"without involving more restraints than are necessary for the preservation of the community. "
Read that last line. Read it carefully. The word used is "necessary", not "nice", not even "useful", but necessary. Liberals are hardly the purveyors of liberalism anymore. Liberals are notorious for legislating the nanny state, laws regarding personal safety, or manipulating the markets to reach an ideological outcome. That quote speaks to a minimalist government that lets the people, or more importantly the individual, live their lives unencumbered by the state either through intrusive laws or excessive taxation. Liberals long ago abandoned that path.
Bertrand Russell, in A History of Western Philosophy (1945), Introductory, p. xxiii
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That quote, Professor Morton, seems to fit well with this one, regarding half-way houses -- "Establishing residential centres to facilitate the transition from prison door to normal life is a major break-through in the ADVANCEMENT of correctional practices. On behalf of all Canadians who believe in the freedom and DIGNITY of the individual, I endorse the good work of the St. Leonard's Society." ...Pierre Elliott Trudeau...(Capitals-mine. Found on the Society's website, with their mission statement.) What we have now in government policy is an absolute regression in spite of concrete evidence. When the CONS cancelled the Life-Line programme, where 'lifers' helped other lifers navigate their way out here, it was a big step backward. The CONS mean-spiritedness is what's behind the cut-backs. It was a small amount of money well-spent. More punitve measures are being added on wherever the Cons can find a way--and that's disgraceful.
"without involving more restraints than are necessary for the preservation of the community. "
Read that last line. Read it carefully. The word used is "necessary", not "nice", not even "useful", but necessary. Liberals are hardly the purveyors of liberalism anymore. Liberals are notorious for legislating the nanny state, laws regarding personal safety, or manipulating the markets to reach an ideological outcome. That quote speaks to a minimalist government that lets the people, or more importantly the individual, live their lives unencumbered by the state either through intrusive laws or excessive taxation. Liberals long ago abandoned that path.
I see that last line as something that applies to regressive Con policies.
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