Dear Editor
I had a dream the other night, and as the dream unfurled, Mr. Obama spoke on TV, with a message for the world. He said that he believed that property was not something that should only be owned by individuals. Now, it might well be that Mr. Obama does believe that, but for him to express it eloquently on TV? The Tea Partiers would have a fit, and then they would grab their guns.
The concepts of public ownership of property, or state ownership, are not the same thing as sharing among individuals, but if sharing among individuals is scaled up to the level of communities or nation-states, then the concepts become equivalent. We know that most human beings do believe in the concept of sharing among individuals, because we share things: food, information, dreams, hardship, and so on. Remember the Berlin Airlift? That was Americans sharing food with Berliners, who would otherwise have starved. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change? That’s all the world’s scientists sharing information. The International Space Station? That’s astronauts from all over the world sharing a dream. Remember the Titanic? My friend Carlo, who is studying to be a marine engineer, told me that they all wear purple, in solidarity with the Titanic’s engineers, who stayed below decks to keep the engines running as long as possible, even though it guaranteed that they would not get out. Human beings share things. It’s an essential aspect of our species, and the science of evolution tells us why.
All my socialist friends are already tearing into the Justin Trudeau Liberals, and they have a lot of evidence to support their position. But there is other evidence. A cabinet of 50 per cent women? This is a first for Canada. Implementing proportional representation when first past the post gave the Liberals a majority? Unheard of. Inviting all the Premiers and opposition party leaders to the Paris climate change conference? A marvel. We cannot know yet what the Justin Trudeau Liberals will actually do, but as the weeks roll by, it’s starting to look as though they will fulfill all of their election promises. I reserve my judgment. History will judge them.
I don’t know whether Justin Trudeau is opposed to the concept of private property, which would make him a socialist. I doubt that he is a socialist, but it seems clear that he does believe in sharing: information, political power, responsibility; those we already know about. Justin Trudeau does not need to be a socialist. However, if he believes in sharing, then he is a human being, and that’s good enough for me.
Victor Finberg, Burnaby
