Leader: Raymond Samuels II

Web Site: http://www.agoracosmopolite.com

Policies/Platform: Political Values, Spiritual Values

Candidates: http://www.agoracosmopolite.com/candidates.htm (only Raymond Samuels II listed as of May 23, 2004).

Party Description: It is not entirely clear whether or not the Cosmopolitan Party is comprised of one person: Raymond Samuels II. However, the nature of the party can be summed up fairly succinctly.

The party apparently takes the view that Canada has been "descending into a milieu of prevailing service to Mammon". The party says that the "...pursuit of 'mammon', instigates artificially contrived conflict in order to divide, conquer, and enslave "the masses", i.e. humanity, as the society drifts away from previously evolving civic-spiritual commitments to its citizen-participants." It explains its view that:

"Service to Mammon is a force that is without compassion or empathy. It thrives on such malevolence as hatred and deceit. It uses materialistic values to create a culture of self-absorption, venality, and vanity, in order to instigate social control, rather than social justice."

[...]

"Service to Mammon is indifferent to the destruction of nature that humans depend upon for their quality-of-living."

What is the Cosmopolitan Party's proposed solution to a country it thinks is following "Mammon" to enslavement? Anti-free-market, pro-egalitarian/socialist government control of the economy. Cosmopolitan Party policies concerning economics assert that the focus must be on government giving every person the same high "quality of life". As the Cosmopolitan Party web site puts it:

"...social justice and environmental protection is the axiom, of all public policies, without exception...The pursuit of commercial objectives by the private sector should be respected, as long as the execution of these objectives do not undermine quality-of-living considerations."

and

"A participatory democracy must support social justice, as the axiom of all public policies, which include the alleviating of economic disparity."

and

"Cosmopolites recognizes [sic] that all Canadians have a right to food, shelter, clothing, and other critical amenities of life, which are include [sic] access to healthcare and protection of their environment from activities which harm the pursuit of their high quality-of-living."

The party would spend taxpayer dollars on the production of renewable sources of energy, including subsidies to industries that "protect the environment, like the growing area of organic agriculture". It would use federal dollars to fund public transportation. It supports universality (in which all must pay, whether or not they use) health care and access to higher education each "as a basic human right". A Cosmopolitan government would renew social programs including direct transfer payments to municipalities, to eliminate "involuntary homelessness", and also to provide affordable housing access equitably to all Canadians in need of affordable housing.

Unfortunately for the Cosmopolites, the problem with all of these subsidies is that they all fall under provincial jurisdiction, not federal jurisdiction. This is arguably why the "Cosmopolites" would "...support the amending of the Canadian constitution so that the federal government can directly provide transfer payments to Canadian cities...to provide critical support to social programs in Canadian cities, in support of rejuvenating Canadian urban social fabrics."

The Cosmopolitan Party also claims to be "Canada's only officially cross-cultural political party". It claims as its values certain values which can be found in many religions of the world, including:

• Do not harm anyone;
• Love thy neighbour;
• As ye sow, so shall ye reap;
• etc.

The party says:

"We believe that the renaissance of Canada can be achieved by embracing the wisdoms of the cultural heritages of Canadians of all backgrounds, in the nation-building of a progressive society. These cultural heritages include the spiritual values expressed in the religions of diverse Canadians."

If it actually runs candidates, Election 2004 will be the first election in which the Cosmopolitan Party has run one or more candidates. However, as of the date of writing (May 23, 2004), only the party leader is cited to be a candidate for the party so, unless you live in his riding of Ottawa Centre, it is unlikely that you will have a Cosmopolitan Party candidate on your ballot this year.