The Political Culture of Quebec, 1840–1960

Abstract

abstractTo illuminate the debate about the traditional role of the state in Quebec, the article suggests Quebec's traditional political culture prior to the Quiet Revolution was shaped by the “dialectic of patronage.” Economic need encouraged Québécois to exploit the political process for advancement. The resulting preoccupation of the political process with patronage prompted two contradictory impulses—devotion to, yet suspicion of, the political process—and efforts to insulate “government” from “politics.” This perspective helps to reveal the thematic and chronological continuities in Quebec history, to illuminate the Quiet Revolution, and to evaluate competing theories of Quebec's social evolution.