Rethinking Canadian Political Economy: A Comment

Abstract

The recent special issue of Studies in Political entitled Rethinking Canadian Political Economy, takes on special significance when viewed in the context of concurrent intellectual events. In particular, it signifies a contribution made by H.A. Innis which is different from the one attributed to him in the special issue itself. The substantive message of the special issue is that a oncefashionable, Western Marxian interpretation of Canadian development has been found wanting in several respects. Specifically, it does not include an adequate assessment of class formation or regionalism and it overemphasizes the importance of staple exports and international forces. Rethinking Canadian Political Economy therefore entails a re-emphasis on, and a re-interpretation of, class interaction within Canada and a reassessment of its consequences with respect to the distribution of wealth, power and privilege. The problem around which the old interpretation formed was a perceived dependent and underdeveloped character of the Canadian economy, deriving from the frustration of national class formation by international capitalism. The problem around which the new interpretation has formed is a perceived internal maldistribution of wealth, deriving from the success of the dominant class within Canada in its use of the state to legitimize the class system through economic development and social welfare legislation. The significance of this revision of Western Marxism becomes evident