Rebels, Reds, Radicals: Rethinking Canada's Left History

by Ian McKay

In this brilliant and thoroughly engaging work Ian McKay sets out to revamp the history of Canadian socialism. Drawing on models of left politics in Marx and Gramsci, he outlines a fresh agenda for exploration of the Canadian left.
In rejecting the usual paths of sectarian or sentimental histories, McKay draws on contemporary cultural theory to argue for an inventive strategy of "reconnaissance." This important, groundbreaking work combines the highest standards of scholarship, and a broad knowledge of current debates in the field. "Rebels, Reds, Radicals" is the introduction to McKay's definitive multi-volume work on the history of Canadian socialism (volume one, "Reasoning Otherwise: Leftists and the People's Enlightenment in Canada, 1890-1920" will be available in November 2008).
Ian McKay teaches at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. His previous books include "Rebels, Reds, Radicals," "For a Working-Class Culture in Canada," and "The Quest of the Folk: Antimodernism and Cultural Selection in Twentieth-Century Nova Scotia."

Genres: Canada, History, Politics, Nonfiction

264 pages, Paperback

First published April 28, 2005

Reviews

[Danya · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was surprisingly readable and shockingly compelling. Definitely a good place to start if you're interested in the political left in Canada between the 19th and late 20th centuries.

[Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was definitely and interesting perspective on the Canadian “left” although, as my quotations might indicate, I am not entirely convinced by the author’s arguments about what the left or socialism is. He tries to argues against sectarianism and the dominance of any one theoretical perspective but seems to rely mainly on Gramsci himself, which gives the impression that he’s not being entirely forthcoming about his views in order to project a more unified vision of the left. He also argues against ahistorical conceptions of political movements, which I think is fundamentally a more accurate and informative way to look at things, however he kind of undermines this by providing a very ahistorical and non contextual definition of socialism that binds all of these things together such that they all make sense being in one book.

I get the impression that this was meant at the time to be a kind of attempt to rally what is generally considered to be the left around a shared history rather than a real in depth look at the history or theoretical basis of left movements in Canada. It doesn’t really go into much detail on any of them and relies almost entirely on the reader being at least vaguely familiar with Canadian political history. It also really short changes anything that isn’t white or anglophone. Which is not entirely surprising, this is a pretty major theme in how the english speaking left thinks about itself in Canada, but it is disappointing that the very interesting and radical (and ongoing) movements that involve Indigenous, Black, Asian and other people of colour didn’t get a mention. Also the radical history of Québec is basically a footnote which simultaneously drastically underplays how radical the 60s and 70s in Québec were (for instance Montreal had a movement that took over the administration of at least some social services when the city refused to, what is more “living otherwise” than that?) and also how blind these radical movements were to their own flaws, making the author look like he’s critiquing what he didn’t intend to and supporting things he probably doesn’t.

I do agree with the general sentiment that there is a separate political attitude that is unique to Canada and a unique tradition of resisting that attitude but in general the book tried to do way to much with way too little room.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first 150 pages of this book are an argument for why the history will be presented the way it is. The last 50 pages is the history.

McKay argues that Canada's left should be thought of in terms of six "formations", each of which contributed its own left self-conception and universe of discourse, and made its own bid for counter-hegemony. They are, roughly: utopian/evolutionary socialism, orthodox Communism, midcentury social democracy, the New Left, socialist feminism, and modern international socialism.

McKay is adamant that these strands not be interrogated for purity nor set against one another in competition for the most successful or the truest to principles. Instead a modern reader should engage in "reconnaissance" to report back whatever can usefully be gleaned from each. The purpose of a historical survey is to reveal the variety of purposes, languages, tactics, and coalitions available.

McKay also points out what is unique to the Canadian setting of these formations: in particular, the roles of Quebec and the CCF-NDP make a big difference from the possibilities available in the United States setting.

The book is very useful as a springboard to further reading. Every bibliography you could want is in the endnotes, whether you want to learn about the Winnipeg general strike or the PQ.

[Jessie B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Presents a fascinating way to look at the Canadian left

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Succinct, inclusive, hopeful.

[Chris Beaudoin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boring first half where he just yaps but the actual history was interesting and is a good reminder that the prairies weren't always reactionary

[Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

A breezy and easily digested attempt to create a unifying narrative of Canada's left. This book is essentially an executive summary for McKay's larger narrative that McKay begins in "Reasoning Otherwise".

McKay proposes that Canada's founding on "peace, order, and good government" gives it a profoundly undemocratic liberal tradition. The left are the people that imagine and try to create another society. Their ideas are sometimes absorbed by the liberal state as a coping mechanism, but there is always this continuous war of the left's profoundly democratic ideals against the liberal-capitalist state.

It's a compelling narrative, and one that you really want to believe because it helps unite the endlessly squabbling left. By making the Communist Party, CCF, NDP, feminists, and third worlders all part of this binary conflict, McKay is able to stitch together a holistic view of the left wing that is seductive in its hope for profound change. There's a common theme rather than the exclusion of "my leftism is better than yours".

Of course, this book was published in 2005 before Harper's rise to power, but that doesn't really affect its overall point. If anything, Harper was the liberal hegemony's most naked and successful pushback against the left. The Liberal Party's ability to absorb left discontent into its current narrative could actually be considered a victory for the left in that the Liberal were pushed to adopt even more left narrative to gain their current power.

I'm very interested in seeing how this theoretical construction affects the evolution of left politics in Canada, and whether its powerful message that the left, despite its flaws, is powerful in Canada, can change how we think about politics in Canada.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

My friend told me this book flattens the left. She was right, but it does much more than simply lump disparate political projects together, it divorces the reader from the complexity of the left at the same time it laments an essientalist reading of canadian left history. The book also fails to understand the growth of anti-nuclear movement and the rise of decentralized collectives within the last thirty years. There is a reason for that i suppose, CPC and social-democratic parties leave records and self-created history. Small collectives don't. It was worth the read and the footnotes are AMAZING!

[Uday Bhardwaj · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not like The Vimy Trap, a bit too Pinko revisionist for me, so I was not looking forward to reading another McKay book. but I ended up enjoying it a bunch. got me into Gramsci as well. and of course the application of Gramsci in a uniquely Canadian context just blew me away. solid work of historiography.

[Scott Neigh]

Reviewed here.