Canada stands at a critical juncture in its national development, facing the urgent challenge of rediscovering its collective identity. According to columnist Geoff Russ, the country desperately needs to find its "we" again to maintain its status as a high-trust society.
The Philosophical Foundations of National Cohesion
The classical liberal thinker John Stuart Mill once issued a profound warning about the difficulties of maintaining free institutions in countries composed of different nationalities. He emphasized that representative government requires united public opinion and common cultural sympathies to function properly. Without this foundation, even institutions like the military could become detached from the people they serve.
Modern liberalism often overlooks this essential truth, assuming that rights and markets can exist independently of cultural context. Yet as Russ notes, the sharpest classical liberal minds operated within cultural environments they took for granted as permanent.
Historical Perspectives on National Interest
Economist Adam Smith, frequently cited as a champion of free markets, actually prioritized national security over economic prosperity. When defending the Act of Navigation that mandated English ships be crewed by Englishmen, Smith declared that "defence is of much more importance than opulence." He considered these regulations among England's wisest commercial policies.
Smith recognized the danger of monopolizing tendencies among the powerful and expected statesmen to curb these forces for the common good. His approach balanced liberalization with the preservation of social trust, which he understood as emerging from a coherent population.
Canada's Constitutional Challenges
Canada's founding statesman, Sir John A. Macdonald, designed Confederation to unite the two founding peoples within a single North American political entity. The Constitution Act of 1867 reflects this vision, though the cultural unity between Anglophones and Francophones has never fully materialized.
The persistent Quebec question exemplifies Mill's warning about divided nationalities. Following World War II, the federal government expanded significantly, attempting to reconcile with nationalist Quebec through policies like official bilingualism and an expanded welfare state.
These institutional solutions produced mixed results. While the federal apparatus grew substantially, Quebec continues to assert its distinct nationhood and resists absorption into an English-speaking managerial system.
The Managerial State and Cultural Cohesion
American political theorist Patrick Deneen has analyzed the paradox of liberalism evolving into an administrative, managerial state. He argues that liberalism has failed not despite its principles, but because it remained true to them.
This analysis resonates with Canada's current predicament. The country requires both sturdy institutions and a shared culture to maintain social trust and national unity. As Russ concludes, Canada must rediscover the collective "we" that underpins successful liberal democracies.
The path forward involves acknowledging both the historical divisions and the cultural foundations necessary for national cohesion. Only by addressing both elements can Canada preserve the social trust that has long characterized its society.
