Posted by Jack Plant on January 25, 19101 at 11:30:00:
Freedom is having the right to choose and it is our freedom of choice that is at the heart of every political issue.
Politicians who restrict our freedom usually justify their actions with the claim that their imposed economic and/or social restrictions somehow serve the "public interest". Then, as members of "the public", we come to assume that we will gain by giving up some of our freedom as individuals.
Unfortunately, this is not so.
Freedom-reducing measures justified by the "in-the-public-interest" argument clearly favour the interests of one group of people over those of another group of people. Thus, for many, such measures not only restrict their freedom, but place them at a direct disadvantage with respect to those favoured or not affected by the restrictive measures.
The politicians who bestow a benefit on one group at the expense of another group expect --- and often get --- political support from the people who perceive a benefit. At the same time, the disadvantaged groups rarely retaliate by withdrawing their support to those politicians because they have been politically conditioned (by their governments and by a government-run compulsory education monopoly) to believe that their "sacrifice" is "in the public interest".
But as everyone eventually discovers, the "public interest" really means "the ruling politicians' interests", and in the long-run, no one benefits from the "public interest" philosophy.
All of Canada's large political parties recommend and follow policies that seriously restrict our choice of language, units of measurement, entertainment, products, services, employment, and a multitude of other things. The only difference between the parties is not over whether freedom of choice should be limited, but over whose freedoms are to be restricted for whose benefit.
Freedom Party believes that the purpose of government is to protect individual freedom of choice, not to restrict it.
We contend that legislated group rights, state control, and overriding legislation to fundamental freedoms are the fundamental causes of spiralling deficits, uncontrollable taxes, and a social environment that breeds racial and cultural tensions, economic protectionism, and political division.
In contrast, we believe that individual rights, the right to private property, and the legal protection of our fundamental freedoms are the keys to a free, united, and prosperous nation. Equality for all; special status for none.
Free minds. Free markets. Free society.