BradfordToday and InnisfilToday welcome letters to the editor at [email protected] or via the website. Please include your full name, daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter is from a former NDP candidate.
Playing squash at the gym the other night, an acquaintance commented, “great game, especially if you’re winning.”
Then they said, “just like life, it’s all about winning.”
This comment stopped me in my tracks.
I guess in his mind, interactions between people are always a competition; a win for one person and a loss for someone else. He may have gone so far as saying that all relationships are transactional, one person gains advantage, while the other suffers a disadvantage.
This idea echoes Margaret Thatcher’s infamous statement, “There is no such thing as society, only individual men and women.”
Thatcher’s declaration, like my acquaintance’s throw-away comment, is a direct challenge to the idea of a social contract that underlies democratic societies like ours in Canada.
Thatcher’s idea also led to more than 40 years of trickle-down economics, a shrinking sense of public service and the increasingly popular idea of individual success.
A local MPP said something similar at a high-school graduation, telling students that everyone can succeed, you just have to pull up your bootstraps and work hard. Basically, it's up to the individual.
The dark side of this sentiment is that if you don’t succeed, it’s your own fault and you shouldn’t expect any support because you don’t deserve it.
I disagree.
In order for people to flourish, a well-functioning society must be more than individuals competing against each other. Citizens benefit from a society where we ensure that everyone has the necessities of life.
As longtime NDP leader Ed Broadbent wrote, “Mutual responsibility must prevail over private gain and competition … We seek a compassionate and caring society, servicing the needs of all.”
Society must provide key institutions for the good of everyone. Canadians should all be able to attend well-funded public schools and health-care centres. We should be free to join a union to ensure proper wages, job security, benefits and safe work conditions.
Public institutions are currently under threat, struggling to make do with more demands and fewer resources, making it increasingly challenging for public servants like teachers, nurses and doctors.
We can and should do better.
Unfortunately, the winner-take-all mentality is also a feature of our distorted electoral system.
Currently, a party with 40 per cent of the vote can form a majority government, which can then make decisions with complete disregard for opposition parties. To ensure that all voices are heard, we must introduce proportional representation where 40 per cent of the vote means 40 per cent of the seats in the house. Co-operation and mutual responsibility will follow.
As Broadbent said, “this means an essential and robust role for governments at all levels in the provision of public goods.”
In case you’re wondering, I won my squash game. But, I also continue to enjoy being part of a larger community that makes those games possible for me to play.
Pekka Reinio
Barrie
