Rediscovering Canadian political economy
- Rediscovering Canadian political economy
Daniel Drache is in the department of politics at Atkinson College, York University. His previous essay on Harold Innis appeared in the May 1969 issue of the Journal.
NOTES
* Since this has been written I have also become acquainted with some of the ‘early’ and ‘later’ writings of the Canadian anthropologist, A. G. Bailey. See his collection of essays Culture and Nationality (Toronto, 1972). Even though his work in terms of discipline lies outside this paper, nonetheless, both sociologists and anthropologists played a part in developing the political economy tradition in Canada.
1. For Innis’ statement of the staple theory consult the conclusion of The Fur Trade in Canada. For Mackintosh’s see his article “Economic Factors in Canadian History” in Easterbrook and Watkins, eds., Approaches to Canadian Economic History. An amplification of Mackintosh’s approach is found in his study done for the Rowell-Sirois Report, The Economic Background to Dominion-Provincial Relations. These two should be read together for a comprehensive view of his theory of capitalist development.
2. The initial research on the statist tradition is found in Corry’s much neglected study The Growth of Government Activities Since Confederation (1939). It was commissioned by the Rowell-Sirois Commission. Lower, et al, Evolving Canadian Federalism brings together the views of Scott, Lower, etc., who played an important part in theorizing the post-reconstructionist phase of making the Canadian state an instrument of social policy. Particularly Scott’s work, defending a centralized federalism, is important in this regard. His writings are scattered and unfortunately have not been collected. See also, P. E. Trudeau, Federalism and the French Canadians. Forsey and others did much of the preliminary work on the state in Social Planning for Canada and many of their ideas became the social gospel of the state bureaucracy in the fifties.
3. See particularly, K. Buckley, Capital Formation in Canada 1896–1930. Also, Caves and Holton, The Canadian Economy (1959) and O. J. Firestone, Canada’s Economic Development, 1867–1953 (1958).
4. For the cultural application, see M. McLuhan, The Mechanical Bride (1951). On the constitution, see J. R. Mallory, Social Credit and the Federal Power in Canada (1954). For the political aspect, see C. B. Macpherson, Democracy in Alberta: Social Credit and the Party System (1953).
5. See S. Ryerson, Unequal Union (1968) and F. and L. Park, Anatomy of Big Business (1962).
6. See V. Fowke, The National Policy and the Wheat Economy (1957), G. E. Britnell, The Wheat Economy (1939), and S. A. Saunders’ work done for the Rowell-Sirois Commission Economic History of the Maritime Provinces (1939).
7. See G. Teeple, Capitalism and the National Question (1972), Karl Levitt, Silent Surrender, T. Acheson. The Social Origins of Canadian Industrialism: A study in the structure of Entrepreneurship (1972), unpublished Ph.D. thesis. T. Naylor has a study of Canadian finance capital 1880–1926 to be published, fall 1975.
8. Op. cit. In many respects their study is an impressive attempt to defend the Innis staple theory by constructing an econometric model of the Canadian economy. They also end up by watering down Innis’ model of dependency.
9. For an early study see his Farm Credit in Canada (1937). For a sampling of his views on the philosophy of market forces see his article “Political Economy and Enterprise,” CJEPS (Aug. 1949). Easterbrook has chronicled the tradition in a bibliographic essay in Easterbrook and Watkins, eds., Approaches to Canadian Economic History (1967).
10. From Mary Q. Innis, ed., Essays in Canadian Economic History, pp. 135, 405.
11. Easterbrook, in his wide-ranging bibliographic essay, op. cit., discusses the contributions to Canadian political economy but never comes to terms with what assumptions or principles sustained such a large body of academic research.
12. Included in this category are. K. Taylor, B. Bryce, J. Deutsch, and W. C. Clarke. The deputy-ministers of finance have always been strongly continentalist in their approach to Canadian economic policy. Mackintosh was a key influence in the group.
13. For a useful overview of political economy, see C. Chattopadhyay, “Political Economy: What’s in a Name?” Monthly Review, April 1974.
14. Ibid. It is...
