The assumption is that voters are too self-interested and short-term oriented to be concerned about a long-term vision. There’s also a worry that talk of the “jobs of tomorrow” sounds threatening to working-class people. And in the absence of a positive vision of the future, they can succumb to negativism about the present. That’s the only way that we’ll ultimately get a clear, coherent vision that’s different and better than the present. But if he’s to galvanize working-class voters (including those who didn’t cast a ballot in 2019), he will eventually need to put forward a positive conservative futurism that speaks to the public’s elusive search for renewed optimism.

Source: National Post September 18, 2020 10:07 UTC