|
Jean Charest Doesn't Have the Right Stuff
[Published in Maclean's Magazine on March 30, 1998.]
Re: "A Moment in History" -- by Robert Lewis -- March 16, 1998 -- Maclean's
Robert Lewis asks: Does Jean Charest have "the right stuff" to beat Lucien
Bouchard? No. The driving force behind Quebec separatism is ethnic nationalism, which
places collective identity above individual identity -- or blood and language above
reason and individual rights. Charest can't undermine Quebec's strong separatist
sentiment unless he explicitly debunks ethnic nationalism and upholds reason and
individualism. But Charest won't do it because he supports the notion of Quebec as
a "distinct society" within Canada, thus conceding the moral high ground
to Bouchard.
Sincerely,
Glenn Woiceshyn
© 1998 Glenn Woiceshyn.
All rights reserved. This article can be found on-line at at http://www.capitalism.org/glennw. |
|
