加拿大的政治正遭受分析瘫痪和行动幻觉的困扰

我们的政治正遭受分析瘫痪和行动幻觉的困扰

作者：Goldy Hyder，2019 年 5 月 13 日最初发表于《环球邮报》。

加拿大不是诞生的，而是建立的。对于许多加拿大人来说，团结并不是沿着革命之路而来，而是沿着铁路而来。历史提醒我们这些教训，但许多加拿大领导人并不认为自己是真正意义上的国家建设者。

加拿大永远是一项正在进行中的工作，一个未完成的杰作。 在我们周围，我们看到国家基础设施（包括社会基础设施）迅速老化的迹象，我们认识到其原因和后果是严重的。

需要明确的是，这不仅仅是石油和天然气管道停滞的问题，而且是迫切需要的——尽管它们肯定是问题的症状。问题是我们现在批评的欲望超过了创造的欲望。 这就是我们国家现在面临的危机。

严峻的挑战即将到来，每一个挑战都要求我们对我们想要留给子孙后代的国家做出选择——关于经济、环境、教育、创新和移民的选择。

长期以来，我们一直避免做出真正艰难的选择。相反，我们选择研究这些问题，然后，为了更好的措施，再次研究它们。我们患有分析瘫痪。唯一创造的就是行动的幻觉。

国家建设的缺乏并不是因为缺乏计划。每个政府和无数的私营部门实体都拥有装满计划的图书馆，其中许多计划的标题中都包含“2020”。距离2020年只有八个月了。

国家建设的缺失是由于缺乏政治意愿。这不是党派评论，因为每个党派都发现自己处于同样的立场。这是一个系统性问题，因为政治家不再有能力行使其政治权威。

如今，任何选民都可以与其他人（包括决策者）交谈、发短信或交换推文。 这已将权力从机构转移到个人手中，即使在更广泛的公共利益应取代个人偏好的问题上也是如此。

我们设置的程序障碍使少数人有可能阻止大多数加拿大人认可的倡议。重要的项目、计划和政策可能会被推迟，直到支持者放弃并继续前进。

平心而论，有时会有一小群人提出必须得到解决的真正合理的关切。当这种情况发生时，我们应该停下来考虑一下基于其优点提出的善意论点。

然而，政治钟摆已经过度偏向一个极端。为了国家的利益，它必须回到机构和个人之间可以发生合理和理性妥协的地步——或者被强加和执行。

这是否意味着有些人不会如愿以偿？ 绝对地。这是否意味着每个想法都应该付诸实施？ 绝对不。会有赢家和输家，虽然这看起来不公平，但这就是现实世界的运作方式。

加拿大队正在参加全球联赛中最艰难的分区——20国集团。在国际经济舞台上，国家不会因为参与而获得积分，也不是每个人都能举起奖杯。

我们现在进入了季后赛，就像坦帕湾闪电队和卡尔加里火焰队一样，加拿大不能认为其过去的表现将保证我们进入下一轮。 中国、印度、俄罗斯、巴西和其他国家都想把我们淘汰。

就像在曲棍球比赛中一样，我们需要所有明星齐心协力，在棋盘上得分。这不仅包括公共和私营部门，还包括省长和总理。我们没有时间在更衣室里上演戏剧。

我们必须共同努力建设所需的基础设施，以充分利用我们在最近的贸易协定中获得的优惠准入。我们需要创新和移民战略来帮助建设未来的经济。

加拿大通过努力取得了世界地位，但我们似乎已经放下铲子休息一下了。加拿大人需要让我们的领导人承担责任。我们必须要求我们的国家领导人再次成为国家建设者。

Goldy Hyder 是加拿大商业委员会主席兼首席执行官，代表 150 家领先公司。 该委员会最近成立了加拿大经济未来工作组，邀请加拿大人在 www.itsaboutcanada.ca 发表意见。

Our Politics is suffering from analysis paralysis and the illusion of action

by Goldy Hyder ,May 13, 2019  originally published in the Globe and Mail.

 

Canada wasn't born, it was built. For many Canadians, unity didn't come along the road to revolution, but along a railway. History reminds us of these lessons, and yet many Canadian leaders don't consider themselves to be nation-builders in a literal sense.

Canada will always be a work in progress, an unfinished masterpiece. All around us, we see signs of rapidly aging national infrastructure – including social infrastructure – and we recognize that the cause and consequences are serious.

To be clear, this is not just about stalled but urgently needed oil and gas pipelines – though they are certainly symptoms of the problem. The issue is that our desire to critique now exceeds our desire to create. This is the crisis that now confronts our country.

There are serious challenges on the horizon, and each requires us to make choices about the kind of country we want to leave to our children and grandchildren – choices about the economy, environment, education, innovation and immigration.

For too long, we've avoided making the truly hard choices. We've instead chosen to study the problems, and then, for good measure, studied them again. We suffer from analysis paralysis. The only thing created is the illusion of action.

The absence of nation-building isn't attributable to a lack of plans. Every government, and countless private-sector entities, have libraries full of plans, and many of them have “2020” in their titles. Well, 2020 is now just eight months away.

The absence of nation-building is due to a lack of political will. That's not a partisan comment, as every party finds itself in the same position. It’s a systemic problem, in that politicians are no longer capable of exercising their political authority.

Today, any voter can talk, text or exchange tweets with anyone else – including decision-makers. This has shifted power from institutions to individuals, even on questions where the broader public interest should supersede personal preferences.

The procedural obstacles we’ve put in place make it possible for a handful of individuals to hold up initiatives endorsed by most Canadians. Important projects, programs and policies can be delayed until supporters give up and move on.

To be sure, there are times when small groups of people bring forward genuine and legitimate concerns that must be addressed. When this happens, we should pause to consider good-faith arguments advanced on their merits.

Yet, the political pendulum has swung too far to one extreme. For the good of the country, it must swing back to a point where reasonable and rational compromises between institutions and individuals can occur – or be imposed and enforced.

Does this mean that some people won’t get their way? Absolutely. Does this mean that every idea should be acted upon? Absolutely not. There will be winners and losers, and while that might seem unfair, it is how things work in the real world.

Team Canada is competing in the toughest division of the global league – the Group of 20. In the international economic arena, countries aren’t awarded points for participation, and not everyone gets to hoist the cup.

We’re in the playoffs now and – like the Tampa Bay Lightning and Calgary Flames – Canada can’t assume that its past performance will guarantee us a spot in the next round. China, India, Russia, Brazil and others want to knock us out.

As in hockey, we need all of our stars working as one team to put points on the board. This includes not only the public and private sectors, but also provincial premiers and prime ministers. We don’t have the time for drama in our locker room.

We must work together to build the infrastructure required to take full advantage of the preferential access we have secured in recent trade agreements. We need innovation and immigration strategies to help build the economy of the future.

Canada achieved its standing in the world through hard work, and yet it looks as though we’ve put down our shovel to take a break. Canadians need to hold our leaders to account. We must demand that our national leaders become nation-builders again.

Goldy Hyder is president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada, representing 150 leading companies. The Council's recently launched Task Force on Canada's Economic Future invited Canadians' views at www.itsaboutcanada.ca