La Révolution tranquille 60 ans après par Stéphane Paquin, et X. Hubert Rioux

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Reviewed by: La Révolution tranquille 60 ans après par Stéphane Paquin, et X. Hubert Rioux Gavin M. Furrey Paquin, Stéphane, et X. Hubert Rioux. La Révolution tranquille 60 ans après. PUM, 2022. ISBN 978-2-7606-4513-4. Pp. 274 The model of Quebec, as Paquin presents it in the opening chapter, is a particular political, economic, cultural, and social organization relying on both formal and informal mechanisms structuring relationships between the state, interest groups, civil society actors, enterprises, and financial milieux; the contributors to this collective work ultimately support Quebec's unique arrangements of these relations (22). Arguments that the Révolution tranquille ushered Quebec into modernity are rejected by Paquin, for these hypotheses rely on the now-discredited conception of social evolution, measuring societies against a reified and fictious ideal-type (20). Paquin asserts that we can rather understand the Révolution tranquille as "le fruit d'un sursaut nationaliste au Québec, dont l'une des trames centrales était de lutter contre la discrimination des francophones" (23). The analysis of Quebec's state capacities and capabilities advanced by Bernier and Latouche in chapter two largely supports the success of the Québecois model, thanks to close relationships between state and society, in transforming these capacities in favor of increased autonomy. Chapter three by Pierre Fortin offers an optimistic portrait of the social and economic progress of Quebec in the last sixty years across twelve indicators. Fortin concludes that the Québecois model was not thought a priori to catch up to a Canadian standard, but was rather constructed "a posteriori par accumulation d'expériences dont le succès et les échecs ont été reconnus et peu à peu pris en considération" (80). Fortin celebrates a pragmatic mix of conservative and social-democratic measures (versus adhesion to a particular model of development) that avoid political polarization, as well as a collective "nous historique" where the antagonisms of class and ethnicity are limited (80). There is irony in his statement that "[la] cohésion sociale restera toujours la clé de la réussite, et un défi permanent" (81), in that the rest of this collective work celebrates successes in managing public finances, administrating territories, and investing, and poses suggestions for the future oriented around renewable energy, housing, and the labor market without engaging in much analysis or dialog with Pascale Dufour's conclusion that the homogenous historical "nous" of the Révolution tranquille will need to be refounded (244). For example, the analysis of Quebec's territorial development in chapter five, and that of Hydro-Québec in chapter nine, make no mention of how these factors of Quebec's state capacity are influenced by the rights of Inuit and First Nation communities. Dufour may have the last word, yet the true conclusion of this work is that the Révolution tranquille brought about a rapid development Quebec's statehood, and that strengthening these state capacities differently from the rest of North America was successful in combating discrimination against francophones. This work is useful for understanding these transformations. However, it offers no analysis of how the Québecois model may develop to fight different discriminations, notably at a time when some might argue it is engendering them. [End Page 303] Gavin M. Furrey Chercheur indépendant Copyright © 2023 American Association of Teachers of French