The State of Democratic Socialism in Canada: Right Turn on the Road?

Review The State ofDemocratic Socialism in Canada: Right Turn on the Road? GETTING ON TRACK: SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIES FOR ONTARIO. Daniel Drache, ed. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1992. GRANT NOTLEY: THE SOCIAL CONSCIENCE FOR ALBERTA. Howard Leeson. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 1992. NO BANKERS IN HEAVEN: REMEMBERING THE CCF. Olenka Melnyk. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1989. FOOL FOR CHRIST: THE POLITICAL THOUGHT OF J.S . WOODSWORTH. Allen Mills. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1991. SOCIAL DEMOCRACY WITHOUT ILLUSIONS: RENEWAL OF THE CANADIAN LEFT. John Richards, Robert D. Cairns and Larry Pratt, ed. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1991. DEBATING CANADA'S FUTURE: VIEWS FROM THE LEFT. Simon Rosenblum and Peter Findlay , eds. Toronto: James Lorimer and Company, 1991. OUR CANADA: THE STORY OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY YESTERDAY , TODAY AND TOMORROW. Leo Heaps, ed. Toronto: James Lorimer and Company, 1991. CANADIAN SOCIALISM: ESSAYS ON THE CCF-NDP . Alan Whitehorn . Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1992. In the years before the Progressive Conservative victory in the federal election of 1984, George Perlin of Queen's University authored a book with the provocative thesis that the Conservative Party suffered from a "syndrome" peculiar to losing political parties. A malady had developed over the decades of electoral Journal ofCanadian Studies Vn/. 28. Nn. 2 IEt/5 1993 Summer) reversals. Adversity had bred an institutionalized party of opposition. Party ranks had become populated by those feeling perpetually on the outside. Long years in opposition meant that for many the expression of criticism and negative sentiments were the mainstays of political dialogue. "A party which is habitually in opposition becomes absorbed entirely in the strategy and tactics of criticism," wrote Perlin. "It tends to approach all debate with an attacking, destructive style."1 Perlin's perceptions of the PCs provide a useful guide for those seeking insight into the party's history. Back-toback ele.ctoral victories in the 1980s have dramatically changed party behaviour and orientation. The transition from a party of habitual opposition to one able to broker a successful electoral coalition is a fascinating evolution. Equally fascinating is the parallel debate being played out in the ranks of the federal and provincial NDP over the differences between principled socialist opposition and cautious, fiscally responsible government. A guide to the historical context for this parallel debate can be gathered from the assorted works surveyed here. The current tensions between long-held points of social and economic criticism, and the proclaimed demands of government, have deep roots. NDP premiers, such as Ontario's Bob Rae, are finding themselves questioned by federal compatriots about their loyalty to traditional party sentiments relating to economic and budgetary matters. In return, Rae and his provincial counterparts maintain that responsible leadership involves consideration for constraints such as debt loads and credit ratings. Rae, in fact, has adapted the notion of an opposition mentality to his fellow Ontario New Democrats. The following passage from his speech of Nov. 29, 1992 to the Ontario New Democratic Party Provincial Council might have been employed by Perlin with regard to the Conservatives in opposition: The culture of the Party for many years was that of a Party in Opposition. I think it is fair to say that the Party in Opposition did 159 not spend a whole lot of time talking about how to do things. I think it is fair to say that the Party in Opposition spent a great deal of time talking about what, in an ideal world, we would like to do. This language of Opposition which is almost internal to ourselves in terms of the dialogue which goes on within us is one which really has to change to a language which deals very directly with what we can do and how we must do it welJ.2 Rae's portrait of the New Democratic Party tradition stands in stark contrast to what is normally presented. More common is the image of visionaries seeking a more just world order in the face of voter uncertainty, corporate opposition, and the poaching of their platforms by voteseeking brokerage parties. Dedication to a cause and a set of principles were praised as fundamental virtues. Within this selfconception party members were...