"The Man Behind Stephen Harper"

In the October 2004 issue of Walrus Magazine, Marci MacDonald wrote an excellent, and wonderfully researched article, "The Man Behind Stephen Harper".

Now Harper certainly made an appearance in the piece, but the focus was on Tom Flanagan, a political science professor at the University of Calagary, and Harper's national campaign director during last June's election.

The implications of the article, which you can read in full by clicking the link below, is that Flanagan, and his clique at the University of Calgary poli-sci department, are the intellectual driving force behind the neo-conservative movement in Canada, now embodied by the Conservative party. The "Calgary School", as it has come to be known, is also the location of Harper's academic roots.

MacDonald takes the time to shed light on the dark underbelly of the of the current Conservative party's intellectual masters, and the sight isn't a pretty one. Their academic publishing history is riddled with attacks on progressive policies through the exploitation of closeted bias. In particular, the rights of Canadian Aboriginals seems to be something of a Flanagan specialty. Flanagan has directed a huge amount of his intellectual effort into creating the academic foundation for denying aboriginal peoples land claim rights, and it seems he has been rewarded handsomely for his efforts through generous goverment research grants and consulting contracts.

But Flanagan's views wouldn't have raised more than eyebrows if his telephone hadn't rung on a June afternoon in 1986. The Justice Department offered him a $103,000 contract as its chief historical consultant on one of the biggest land-claims cases before the federal courts: a suit by the Manitoba Metis Federation for 1.4 million acres promised to Riel and his followers in 1870.

Flanagan has gone on to reprise that role in a half-dozen other federal aboriginal disputes, including Victor Buffalo, et. al. vs. The Queen -- a landmark claim for more than $1 billion in damages by the Samson Cree Nation at Hobbema, near Edmonton, over Ottawa's handling of its oil and gas royalties. The Manitoba and Alberta governments have also hired him for their own battles over treaty rights. "What he's become is a very convenient tool for the government," says David Chartrand, president of the Manitoba Metis Federation.

MacDonald also takes the time to research into the academic background of the Calgary School's members. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they seem to have been heavily influenced by the writings of Leo Strauss:

But Shadia Drury, a member of the U of C department until last year, accuses her former colleagues of harbouring a more sinister mission. An expert on Leo Strauss, the philosophical father of the neo-conservative movement, Drury paints the Calgary School as a home-grown variation of American Straussians like Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, who share their teacher's deep suspicion of liberal democracy. Strauss argued that a ruling elite often had to resort to deception -- a noble lie -- to protect its citizens from themselves. To that end, he recommended harnessing the simplistic platitudes of populism to galvanize mass support for measures that would in fact restrict rights. Drury warned the Globe's John Ibbitson that the members of the Calgary School "want to replace the rule of law with the populism of the majority," and labelled Stephen Harper 'their product.'

The noble lie, an interesting concept given the confusion most Canadians have over Conservative party policy, or the lack thereof. Free votes in the house, private members bills, it all fits rather handily into the push to "replace the rule of law with populism of the majority".

But perhaps the most interesting comments are also the most chilling, and they come from the Albertan God-father of social conservatism, Ted Byfield.

But back in Alberta, Ted Byfield, the unabashed voice of the West since the Calgary School's professors were pups, sees it another way -- in terms Leo Strauss might have approved. "All these positions which Harper cherishes are there because of a group people in Calgary -- Flanagan most prominent among them," Byfield says. "I don't think he knows how to compromise. It's not in his genes. The issue now is: how do we fool the world into thinking we're moving to the left when we're not?"

To those who are unnerved by that prospect, Byfield offers no cheer. "Those people who said they're dangerous -- they're right!" he says. "People with ideas are dangerous. If Harper gets elected, he'll make a helluva change in this country."

For the full "The Man Behind Stephen Harper" article, click here.