Kindness, Kinship, and Tradition in Newfoundland/Alberta Migration by Craig T. Palmer, Emily K. Groom and Jordan H. Brandon (review)

Uneven economic development in Canada has led to substantial migration to western provinces from elsewhere in Canada. Within this context, so many Newfoundlanders have moved to Fort McMurray, Alberta, that there is a marked Newfoundland presence in local cultural and social organisations. The contributions of kindness and family traditions to such migration are the central concerns of this book. The authors argue that 'kindness is the result of cultural traditions … promoting proper kinship behaviour' (p. ix) and they believe that kindness is a 'mysterious and puzzling behaviour' (p. vii). A selective review of social science explanations of kindness in chapter 2 leads to a suggestion that an extension of evolutionary theory is necessary to explain kindness. The authors adopt the phrase 'descendant-leaving strategy' and suggest that traditions are the means by which this strategy is implemented. After a critical review of an ethnographic study of Newfoundland traditions which was completed in the 1960s, the authors summarise contemporary illustrations of kindness in chapter 4, stressing the role of family tradition. Discussion subsequently broadens into consideration of Newfoundlanders as an ethnic group, raises issues about kindness to non-Newfoundlanders and incorporates the role of religious affiliation in promoting a sense of kinship. In the concluding chapter the authors summarise their argument as follows: 'kindness, kinship, and tradition are of such fundamental importance that without these the migration between Newfoundland to [sic] Alberta would be so different as to be beyond recognition' (p. 122).

As the authors' argument develops, theoretical and methodological fault-lines, ambiguities and contradictions emerge. The literature review about kindness - focused on individualistic accounts of social behaviour and framed by a concern to explain acts of kindness without reference to self-interest or reciprocity - omits discussion of a range of areas of study, notably sociology. Contrary to the authors' emphasis on links between kindness and kinship, contemporary reviews of literature on altruism conclude that genetic relationships are not a prerequisite for acts of kindness among humans. There are also unacknowledged tensions and implicit contradictions in the authors' accounts of their methodological strategy. They assert a commitment to positivism and falsificationism - buttressed by a quotation from the mid-1960s without reference to criticisms of positivism and falsificationism since that date - and then they locate their study within an interpretivist framework. Although the authors express commitment to a theoretical approach based on evolutionary theory, they do not consider how their cross-sectional study can deal with longitudinal issues. Inevitably, some of the anecdotes and interview extracts can be interpreted in ways that are incompatible with the authors' interpretations. Social and cultural dimensions of migration within Canada are an important topic but the theoretical limitations of this book, its restricted consideration of relevant literature and problems of methodological strategy severely diminish its value.