Terry Cooke offers to Socially Engineer Hamilton

Vincent J. Curtis

3 Oct 2015

In the Hamilton Spectator today, former Chairman of Hamilton-Wentworth Region and now head of the Hamilton Foundation, Terry Cooke published an article outlining a plan of his, headlined, "Poverty by postal code taking a terrible toll."  Cooke wants to solve the problem of the inner city by moving the inner city to the suburbs.

Cooke was known in his day as a "Red Tory", i.e. a conservative with left-wing solutions to left-wing problems.  The David Premi and Paul Shaker referred to in the piece are others who favor strong social engineering.  I find social engineering to be repugnant and arrogant beyond description.

Below is my response.


Terry Cooke’s recommendations can be summarized briefly: the raising of taxes and the use of government power to coerce taxpayers in pursuit of an unpersuasive and improbable policy goal that, when reached, will solve the problem he perceives exists.

Perhaps Cooke should consult with David Premi concerning that goal, since Cooke’s recommendations would tend to expand the size of the city rather than contract it.  A case of sucking and blowing by those who know best.

Behind Cooke lies a body called the Social Planning and Research Council.  A moment’s reflection will cause one to realize how odious the concept of social planning is.  Some pencil-neck decides what is best for me and my neighbors, not us.  Alan Turing and Stephen Hawking are entitled to be intellectually arrogant.  I have yet to meet a social planner with the intelligence and education to be entitled to be intellectually arrogant.
-30-