Anti-Racism Conference Walkout

Talk about being between a rock and a hard place. UN General Secretary, Ban Ki-moon found himself between the pro-Israel lobby and the pro-Palestine lobby this week. One of the purposes of free speech and open debate is to establish the facts and persuade listeners. By absenting themselves from the United Nations debate on Racism countries such as the USA and New Zealand deprived themselves of a platform to argue their point of view. Yes - there is a risk that in joining the debate we hear things from others that we do not like. But that is the nature of debate. Tolerance and freedom are hallmarks of the liberal ethos and we depart from them at our peril.

The Importance of Social Cohesion

Social cohesion is important not just because it helps make society more stable, more productive and less violent but because it helps all citizens develop positive aspirations for themselves and their families.
Those societies that have a large underclass that is disconnected from the economic mainstream tend to exhibit a greater range of social and economic problems such as crime, racial tensions, violence and industrial unrest.
A progressive income tax, a strong and responsive public health service and high quality public education service are all foundational to a socially cohesive nation. Most mainstream political parties have now come to recognise this. Parties on the Left have long advocated such measures – albeit at times out of a desire to punish the rich. But today some liberal and conservative parties on the centre-right are also choosing to re-incorporate such policies as part of a socially inclusive form of liberal democracy.

Progressive liberalism

The word "liberal" has been misused by many groups in recent years. Some see it as a badge for laissez-faire capitalism - despite liberalism's concern with equal opportunity and freedom from poverty, ignorance or superstition. Others, see liberals as soft on crime, supporters of Big Government and the welfare state.
However, a dictionary definition describes liberal as :
"relating to or having social and political views that favour progress and reform" - Collins Concise Dictionary p.853.
Intrinsic in the liberal attitude is a willingness to always look to improve things, to question established assumptions and to find better solutions to the challenges of the day. Freedom and responsibility are at the heart of the liberal philosophy.

Today the greatest threat to liberalism is not monarchist absolutism of the type facing liberals in revolutionary France. Rather it is the desire for freedom without the acceptance of responsibility and the selective blindness regarding the need to broaden freedoms for all sorts of forgotten groups in society. Rebuilding social capital and the linkages that unite local communities is one of the main tasks facing the country today. The party that can rediscover the roots of this type of balanced yet progressive liberalism will be the party that surprises at the election.