This Is Not Your Mother's Enlightenment

I howl in laughter and yelp in madness whenever I hear progressives claim to be part of The Enlightenment tradition.

There's nothing in their beliefs that would fit the world views of Enlightenment philosophers.

Hume, Smith, Bastiat, Galliani and later on Madison - name them - would look on in disgust at the progressive movement.

Progressive like coercion, freedom on their terms and socialist policies. 

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Here in Quebec, we've lost any connection to our common Western link to The Enlightenment.

We've fallen off the deep end on minority rights in particular. Minority rights is one of the greatest innovations bestowed upon us through Enlightenment thought. You can't negotiate away a person's right to freedom of expression (which includes language), religion (worship), association, choice, right up to property rights.

In other words, you can't touch that shit let alone legislate against it through punitive measures. You touch it, you touch people directly and if you touch them negatively, you will reap the corrosive society you have sewn.

It's an affront to our classical liberal heritage witnessing what the Parti Quebecois does.

Here, any notion of guarding against tyranny of the majority is notional. A suggestion. Our common discourse on the matter follows suit.

And it's a travesty.