March 10, 2001

3:14 PM

Could next month's Summit of the Americas transform Canadian political culture? Michael Valpy thinks so. He writes: "Canadians have lost deference for their traditional political institutions and leaders. They have become surprisingly ready -- more ready than Americans -- to engage in protests, boycotts and civil disobedience, according to political-science studies... Likely not since the 1919 Winnipeg general strike and the Great Depression marches of the unemployed has an event so galvanized the energies and imaginations of Canadians on the left side of the political spectrum."
posted by tranquileye (4 comments total)

Funny how old-school leftists and right-wingers seem to be finding each others all over the world in fighting free trade and capitalism these days. The same is happening in Europe too, where fascists, populist anti-immigrationists and communists are more or less joining hands over these issues. Looks like Virginia Postrel got it right after all; the old "left" and "right" tags are dissolving into left- and right-wing conservatives vs. left- and right-wing dynamists. For the sake of Quebec City, let's hope the former have learned to respect property rights, law and order this time...
posted by frednorman at 3:41 PM on March 10, 2001

It's almost misunderstanding things to think of this as a Canadian event in the first place...

"Politics is the shadow cast on society by Big Business" - John Dewey

I think this quote applies to the whole world now that corporations have gone transnational.

It would be interesting to change all this, but I think it would require a fight that would make seattle look like a cakewalk by comparison.

posted by muppetboy at 4:14 PM on March 10, 2001

"Politics is the shadow cast on society by Big Business" - John Dewey

Reminds me of a great quote I read at nolobby.com: "to take money out of politics, take politics out of money"
posted by frednorman at 4:21 PM on March 10, 2001

Here is a Link I saw about another aspect of the summitt. Some may not like the source, but it will be interesting to see how Canandians deal with the protests.

Of course the issues themselves are more important, and I don't know much about the rights to protest in Canada.
posted by chrismc at 5:55 PM on March 10, 2001