Finally! Real proof the earth is actually 'round': CAW / NDP split up

Is the CAW / NDP divorce proof that earth is round - ahem - I mean that political spectrum is not linear and is more like horseshoe or something like that?

We all recall Canadian autoworkers President Buzz Hargrove's endorsement of the Liberals during the last election, showing perhaps that the relationship between the CAW and the NDP was strained. The NDP had apparently suspended his membership. The Toronto Star reports today that Buzz this past week took his union with him and officially ended the 45 year relationship.

This partnership had changed Canada's political landscape both provincially and federally for over a generation, as the autoworkers were both militant and overtly political. Their collective interests as such have been on the agenda - they were arguably too successful - to the point that their relationship with the NDP had to end.

Strong representation, escalating salaries and benefits for traditionally "blue collar" workers has clouded differences between blue collar/white collar or working class/professional class Canadians. The Star suggests that well paid unionists making $60,000 to $80,000 might not want to tax the rich anymore more because of what they have become more than what they have been. NDP party president Adam Giambrone says that people see themselves as "middle class" and don't like to see themselves as "working class" in Canada anymore.

Does this mean autoworkers are now more like Liberals or Conservatives? Is the union relevant and possibly a parodox when one travels politically "right of centre"?

What does this mean for the use of linear terms in describing ideology such as "left" and right" in Canadian politics? Go back to Poli 101 to fully consider whether in Canada until now these terms have been more about political spin, control and stigma than about an accurate way of analyzing ideological preferences.

In light of political theories that suggest that the commonalities between extreme fascism and socialism are closer than the linear definition of the political spectrum can allow, this split between the CAW and the NDP might be proof that this linear model is too simplistic.

This begs the question: can successful union representation ever be anything but a temporary response to be used to create labour fairness and equilibrium? Would moderately successful unions be more everlasting? How would union leadership then separate their responsibilities to their constituents’ collective interest from their own “professional preservation” as individuals? Are the same benevolent approaches demanded by Plato in the conditions he sets out for successful democracies applicable also to labour unions?

To answer these questions we could consult C. Wright Mills and his theories on “elites” to consider what conditions can set in motion ideological shifts over time and the morphing of boundaries that have marked and defined ideologies at specific points in history.

How will the CAW/NDP split redefine political preferences and ideological definitions in Canada? Another great question! Tune in again in 20 years.