Politics And Ideology In Canada

Winner of the Harold Adams Innis Prize, Politics and Ideology in Canada examines a period of crucial historical change in Canada, beginning in the mid-1970s when the crisis of the Keynesian welfare state precipitated a transition to a new political order based on the progressive "downsizing" of state involvement in the economy and society. Using class and ideology as key concepts, Michael Ornstein and Michael Stevenson examine this transition in terms of the nature of hegemony and hegemonic crisis and the conditions of political order and instability. These concepts guide the interpretation of three large surveys of representative samples of the Canadian public and two unique elite surveys, conducted between 1975 and 1981. The surveys cover an exceptionally broad spectrum of political issues, including social programs, civil and economic rights, economic policy, foreign ownership, labour relations, and language issues and sovereignty. A wide-ranging analysis of public and elite attitudes reveals a hegemonic order through the early 1980s, built around public support for the institutions of the Canadian welfare state. But there was also widespread public alienation from politics. Public opinion was quite strongly linked to class but not to party politics. Regional variation in political ideology on a broad range of issues was less pronounced than differences between Quebec and English Canada. Much deeper ideological divisions separated the elites, with a dramatic polarization between corporate and labour respondents. State elites fell between these two, though generally more favourable to capital. The responses of the business elites reveal the ideological roots of the Mulroney years in support for cuts in social programs, free trade, privatization, and deregulation.

Ideology is a ubiquitous, continuously innovating dimension of human experience, but its character and impact are notoriously difficult to pinpoint within political and social life. Political Ideology in Parties, Policy, and Civil Society demonstrates that the reach and significance of political ideology can be most effectively understood by employing a multidisciplinary approach. Offering analyses that are simultaneously empirical and interpretive – in fields as diverse as development assistance policy and game theory – the contributors to this volume reveal ideology’s penetration in varied spheres, including government activity, party competition, agricultural and working-class communities, and academic life.

In Ideological Perspectives on Canada, Patricia Marchak builds on her earlier descriptions of Canadian reality - its liberalism and socialism - to argue that today's corporatism differs from its forerunners in both its values and its definition of society. Marchak argues that liberalism and socialism have many commonalities, such as the goals of equality and freedom for citizens. Corporatism, however, is opposed to equality and promotes an authoritarian hierarchy, resembling the older conservative ideology. To support her argument, Marchak provides a general overview of the study of ideologies, analyzes liberalism and socialism in the context of Canada, and uses Marxist theory to explain past and present class structure and the emergence of a corporatist social structure. A valuable contribution to the debate about the society we live in, Ideological Perspectives on Canada attempts to look at ideologies from an objective standpoint, while admitting that analysts can never fully remove themselves from the web of their own society, which in the Canadian case is steeped in liberalism, socialism, and corporatism.

Political Ideologies in Canada is a multi-authored introduction to the history, evolution, and current reality of Canadian political ideology and is especially relevant to those familiar with Parties, Leaders and Ideologies in Canada (McGraw-Hill, 1996) or Politica Parties, Leaders and Ideologies in Canada (1974, 1983, 1990) by Colin Campbell and William Christian. Thoroughly updated and expanded, Political Ideologies in Canada reconceptualizes and modernizes the foundational knowledge of these earlier texts for anew generation. Divided into two sections: section one demonstrates the relevance of ideology in multiple contexts and introduces students to core traditional ideologies including forms of liberalism, conservatism, socialism, and social democracy. Section two explores ideological currents such as feminism, nationalism, populism, fascism, and environmentalism, as well as Indigenous perspectives on political ideologies. Focused on the Canadian context, this volume includes multiple perspectives layered with Canadian history, thinkers, ideas, politics, and ideologies. Political Ideologies in Canada features a robust and explanatory introduction, a glossary, and supplementary essay questions for instructors and is ideal for introductory political science courses.

"Of Passionate Intensity looks at the problems faced by liberal democracies worldwide from the unique perspective of Canadian history and politics. In this timely book, Trevor Harrison examines the historical, social, and ideological forces that give rise to changing political formations, particularly populist parties and movements." "The federal election of 25 October 1993 was a watershed in Canadian political history. While the Liberal party regained power, the real election story was the near eclipse of two of Canada's traditional parties, the NDP and the Progressive Conservatives, and the rise to prominence of two neophyte parties, the Bloc Quebecois and the Reform party. Founded in 1987, the Reform party has achieved extraordinary popularity. What factors explain Reform's success? Who supports the party? And what is likely to be its long-term political future? Harrison provides an empirical and theoretically informed response to these questions and others." "Drawing from Canadian history, economic developments, and political and cultural contexts, Harrison incorporates a broad range of sources. He uses a historical-sociological methodology, employing surveys, interviews, newspaper accounts, and primary documents. On a theoretical level, the text uses the 'case' of the Reform party as a means of addressing the questions Why do populist parties arise? and What factors influence their ideological orientation? Of Passionate Intensity concludes with a discussion of the nature of populist politics and the promise of popular democracy in the future."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved