According to
the ancient Greeks, the citizen belonged to his city, or “polis” – not to himself or his family.[1] In other words, the polis defined the Greek sense of liberty through community, which
stands in contrast to modern notions of individual liberty.[2] Nevertheless, it is because of the polis that we have the words, politics, metropolis and, of course, polite.[3]
However
Canada’s Conservatives do not look to the ancient Greeks (save for Sparta), as
they adhere instead to the Romans, who are noted for an absence of
philosophical thought and an apparent virility in war. So today in Canada we see a different strain
of anti-polis politics and no sense
of community, which is why the Harper Conservatives are locked out of the
nation’s metropolitan cores – Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. It also explains
why the Conservatives, who veer towards the abrasive, are short on politeness,
as it is considered either effete or too “sophisticated”. In other words it’s Greek to them.
[1] Stephen Leacock, Our Heritage of Liberty (London: The Bodly Head, 1942 [Nabu Public Doman Reprint]), p.21.
[2] See Herbert Spencer, Political Writings. Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought, ed. John Offer (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), p. 103. See also Benjamin Constant, “The Liberty of the Ancients Compared With That of the Moderns” in Political Writings. Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought, ed. and tr. Biancamaria Fontana (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988), pp. 309-328.
[2] See Herbert Spencer, Political Writings. Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought, ed. John Offer (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), p. 103. See also Benjamin Constant, “The Liberty of the Ancients Compared With That of the Moderns” in Political Writings. Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought, ed. and tr. Biancamaria Fontana (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988), pp. 309-328.
[3]Leacock, Our Heritage of Liberty, p.21.
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