The Canadian Economy And Its Problems

Harry G. Johnson is best known as one of Canada's most respected economists, particularly for his research on international trade and finance and monetary policy. But Johnson was also a prolific and influential public intellectual. A sharp and popular polemicist, he wrote on a wide range of subjects, from advertising to affluence to foreign investment, and was published in Punch and The Spectator as well as all the leading economic journals. The Canadian Quandary is a collection of "unbuttoned" pieces written in Johnson's witty and acerbic style between 1958 and 1963. Focusing on Canadian policy on trade and foreign policy, the volume includes Johnson's classic dismemberment of the Canadian nationalist movement. Although Trudeau's Foreign Investment Review Agency and National Energy Policy have been dismantled, economic nationalism persists; it is a testament to both the lucidity of Johnson's mind and the vigour and clarity of his writing that many of his opinions on this debate remain fresh, interesting, and relevant. William Watson's introduction provides an intriguing look at Johnson's life and work.