Description
Book SynopsisThe opening of the twentieth century saw a fervour of radical political movements in Western Canada. Ross McCormack explores the constituencies, ideologies, and development of early reformist, syndicalist, and socialist organizations from the 1880s up to the Winnipeg General Strike in 1919. He distinguishes three types of radicals – reformers, rebels, and revolutionaries – who competed with each other to fashion a general western constituency.
The reformers wanted to change society for the betterment of the workers, but both their aims and methods were moderate, essentially transfering the philosophy and tactics of the British labour movement to the Canadian west. The rebels, militant industrial unionists, periodically battled the Trades and Labour Congress in order to establish unions strong enough to defet the employers and, if necessary, the state. The revolutionary Marxists were committed to the destruction of industrial capitalism and the establishment
Trade Review
'This is the complete history of political radicalism and labour reformism in the Canadian west and is destined to become a standard work in the field, if not the standard interpretation.' -- David J. Bercuson Canadian Forum "A very good book, the best to date on western radicalism.' American Review of Canadian Studies
