The Triumph of the Administrative State: A wide-ranging discussion with Bruce Pardy and Jan Jekielek for American Thought Leaders [see video] focused on the Canadian experience. The administrative state succeeded beyond its wildest dreams thanks to the rupture of COVID, when Canada’s nanny state became extreme and people succumbed in ways they would not have contemplated as possible once. When a truckers’ convoy drove to Ottawa to, essentially, park and question the consensus, the government of Canada felt threatened by the affront of grassroots’ skepticism. They responded by implementing the Emergencies Act to address the political trouble the Act was not designed for. “In many ways, the most disappointing thing about this experience during COVID was the fact that a great many people supported the regime, and they didn’t seem to have very much appreciation for the aberration that it represented,” says Bruce. Taking a deep dive into why that aberration is of great concern forms the rest of the discussion, in particular: Why do so many feel that being managed by their government is desirable? Is the “American spirit” that gave birth to democracies throughout the world dying? Can we revive this spirit? And why do Canadians see the diversity of political “tribes” and states across the border as a negative? What is real diversity? What is pretend diversity? [An almost full transcript of the discussion is available via the link below].
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Selective punishment
