Political Thought in Canada: An Intellectual History

by Katherine Fierlbeck

Overview

What, if anything, makes Canada's political identity unique? Pollsters can measure values, but they cannot explain how these values arose over time, why they changed, or how people have attempted to make sense of them within a changing social and political environment. By examining the history of political ideas in Canada, we can better understand why Canada takes the shape that it does. In this book, Katherine Fierlbeck looks at the legacy of ideas taken from (or shaped in reaction to) the nations that have been most influential to Canada's development: the United Kingdom and the United States. The first section looks specifically at the nature of toryism, constitutional liberalism, and market liberalism. Then she examines the evolution of social justice in Canada. Does the country have, as J.S. Woodsworth hoped, a definitive "third way." The final section focuses upon debates over cultural identity and minority rights. Contemporary political discussions in Canada are very much based upon the expressions of French-Canadian nationalism that have existed as long as, and perhaps even longer than, the country itself. How have these ideas influenced current thinking about culture and accommodation?

The experiences characterized by Canadian political thought also provide insight and ideas for nations around the world as their citizens struggle with similar questions. The political dynamics of the present are a product of how Canadians have viewed their country, or a vision of their country, in the past. These ideas of Canada, in history and in myth, provide a way of thinking about politics that may provoke and inspire Canadians—and others—to reflect upon their future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781551117119
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	03/01/2006
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.79(w) x 8.78(h) x 0.22(d)

About the Author

Katherine Fierlbeck is the McCulloch Professor of Political Science at Dalhousie University, with a cross-appointment as professor of Community Health and Epidemiology.

Table of Contents

Preface

1. Introduction

2. The Context of Canadian Political Thought

Part 1: Defining a Nation

3. The Colonial Legacy

Toryism

British Liberalism and Constitutionalism

4. The Challenge of Neighbourliness: The United States

Jacksonian Liberalism and the Free Market

The Idea of "Sovereignty" in Canadian Political Thought

Part 2: Social Justice

5. Understanding the Culture of Social Justice

The Fragment Theory

The Role of Religion

6. Radical Political Thought

The Left

Other Forms of Radicalism

Part 3: Culture and Accommodation

7. French-Canadian Nationalism

The Church in Lower Canada

Early Liberalism in French Canada

Ultramontanism

Neo-nationalism and Social Radicalism

8. Minority Rights and Multiculturalism: Two Narratives

Minority Rights: The Recognition of "Deep Diversity"

Multiculturalism: The Primacy of Formal Equality

9. In History and in Myth

Bibliography

Index

What People are Saying About This

Margaret Moore

Political Thought in Canada is a thoughtful and engaging book on Canadian political thought, broadly understood. It contains a wealth of rich, detailed arguments on theorists and traditions, set within their political and intellectual context. Fierlbeck demonstrates throughout the text how to connect philosophy with the political and intellectual world.

Janet Ajzenstat

A serious, measured, and encyclopaedic presentation of Canadian political ideas from their beginnings: this book is indispensable.

Editorial Reviews

Political Thought in Canada is a thoughtful and engaging book on Canadian political thought, broadly understood. It contains a wealth of rich, detailed arguments on theorists and traditions, set within their political and intellectual context. Fierlbeck demonstrates throughout the text how to connect philosophy with the political and intellectual world.

—Margaret Moore, Queen's University

A serious, measured, and encyclopaedic presentation of Canadian political ideas from their beginnings: this book is indispensable.

—Janet Ajzenstat, McMaster University

From the Publisher