preview

Liberal Party Ideology

Good Essays

The Liberal Party has traditionally been known for its success in appealing to a range of different regional, social and ethnic groups. Since the establishment of the party, it has lacked a clear core principle and structure because the party was made up of diverse groups of interests. The party could sometime be seen as more supportive of social welfare spending than their Conservatives counterpart. However, it could also commonly be understood as a tactic to counteract the threat posed by the New Democratic Party. Although the Liberal Party is seen to be geared towards a pro-business orientation in the recent years and reduced its social policy commitments, the party has nevertheless stayed with their centre left position on issues such …show more content…

In a general sense, the “biggest challenge for the Liberal Party is determining and defining what [it] actually stands for." This indicates that the Liberal Party today has struggled to find the "ideological sweet spot, the ability to blend business-oriented liberalism with a version of social liberalism sympathetic to equality of opportunity." Therefore, when asked what the Liberals stood for, Liberal representatives often respond with vague generalities. In most cases, it could be seen that the Liberals hope to balance their economic and social policies so that they don’t favour one over the other. In reference back to the "Fairness for the Middle Class," it shouldn't be seen entirely as a support and benefit only in economic terms. In fact, the plan includes an aspect called Canada Child Benefit which "provides greater, tax-free, monthly support to low-income families." Therefore, the plan appears to be an economic policy but includes a social sector which benefits the lower class too in a deeper context. Seen in this light, the Liberal Party should not be seen as one that hopes to develop an economic-based identity. Social policy has always had a primitive role in the Liberal Party. For that reason, the move towards the economic side should be seen as an attempt to incorporate it alongside the social sector. However, it is not intended to give up on social policies since it could be seen that the Liberals always weigh themselves equal on both

Get Access