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The Once and Future Canadian DemocracyAn Essay in Political Thought |
eBook Available
An inspiring case for parliamentary democracy and a sympathetic exploration of current discontents.
In The Once and Future Canadian Democracy Janet Ajzenstat debunks conventional wisdom about Canadian political identity and history. She shows that linking Canadian identity to an ideology that favours the common good over individual interests and counts on big government to achieve it is strangling Canadian democracy by placing fundamental questions beyond debate.
To revitalize politics we need to abandon the idea that ideologies evolve from "right" to "left", from conservatism to socialism, and look at our political differences in terms of the distinction, more familiar in the arts, between classicism and romanticism. She argues that by abandoning our current modes of debate and rediscovering the Enlightenment liberalism that is an enduring part of our political tradition we will help to recreate Canada as a place of debate on fundamentals, not one in which a monolithic definition of identity answers all questions in advance.
To revitalize politics we need to abandon the idea that ideologies evolve from "right" to "left", from conservatism to socialism, and look at our political differences in terms of the distinction, more familiar in the arts, between classicism and romanticism. She argues that by abandoning our current modes of debate and rediscovering the Enlightenment liberalism that is an enduring part of our political tradition we will help to recreate Canada as a place of debate on fundamentals, not one in which a monolithic definition of identity answers all questions in advance.
Details
176 Pages, 6 x 9
ISBN 9780773526594
October 2003
Formats: Paperback, eBook
"I have found Ajzenstat to be one of the most interesting and original minds working in the area of what is conventionally called 'Canadian political thought.' With this book, she has taken her long and intense reflection on the subject and recast it in a new and highly persuasive form. Her demolition of the right-centre-left myth of progress is complete. She has driven a stake through its heart. This is a splendid and engaging piece of work." Barry Cooper, Department of Political Science, University of Calgary.
"Janet Ajzenstat jousts again, leveling her lance at generations of historians, philosophers, political scientists, and political reformers bent on denying Canada's history and future as a liberal democracy. This ambitious, witty book is the first to confront head-on the new generation of literal and metaphorical green-haired rock-throwers." Ian Brodie, Department of Political Science, University of Western Ontario.
"Janet Ajzenstat jousts again, leveling her lance at generations of historians, philosophers, political scientists, and political reformers bent on denying Canada's history and future as a liberal democracy. This ambitious, witty book is the first to confront head-on the new generation of literal and metaphorical green-haired rock-throwers." Ian Brodie, Department of Political Science, University of Western Ontario.
Janet Ajzenstat is professor emeritus, political science, McMaster University.
