Chapter One: Introduction………………………………………………………………...1
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Retrieving Trudeau: Republican Affinities in the Political Thought of Pierre Elliott Trudeau by Marcella Firmini Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia March 2015 © Copyright by Marcella Firmini, 2015 Table of Contents: List of Figures……...………………………………………………………..……………iii Abstract……………………………………………………………………..…………….iv List of Abbreviations Used…...……………………………………………..………….....v Chapter One: Introduction………………………………………………………………...1 Chapter Two: Theoretical Approaches……………………………………….………….15 Chapter Three: Understanding Modern Republicanism………………………...……….32 Chapter Four: Building Myths………………………………………………………….101 Chapter Five: The Neo–Roman Republican Personalist……………………….............146 Chapter Six: The Dynamism of Ideas…...……………………………………………...196 Chapter Seven: Conclusion……….…...……………………………………………..…225 Bibliography………………………………………………...…………………….....…257 ii List of Figures: Figure 1: Polis and Civis……………………..…………………………………………..39 Figure 2: Venn Diagram Republicanism and Liberalism………………………………..56 Figure 3: Mythology Creation/Consolidation Paradigm…………………………..……107 iii Abstract This thesis argues that the political ideas of Pierre Elliott Trudeau have consistently been misrepresented by his critics and commentators for decades. A careful reading of primary works by Trudeau makes it clear that he espoused political positions much more clearly informed by the tradition of classical republicanism than by that of liberal individualism (or socialism, as some of his biographers contend). Trudeau is most often portrayed as an enigma: for some, he is deeply individualist and indifferent to the needs and aspirations of the community; for others, he is an advocate for a powerful centralized and regulatory state dedicated to wealth redistribution, and too sensitive to the common good. In other words, he is too liberal for some, and too collectivist for others. As this thesis will show, this interpretation of Trudeau’s thought may not have been fortuitous or inadvertent; rather, as is often the case with powerful ideas, his ideas were construed and interpreted in specific ways for precise purposes. Understood as a republican, Trudeau becomes more exciting and innovative, and possesses greater political foresight than is often conceded to him. Utilizing a framework based on intellectual history, I examine theories of republicanism and explain why Trudeau’s ideas have a clear republican orientation. Using discursive approaches, I contend that Trudeau’s ideas, more than ever, offer a startlingly relevant critique of contemporary Canadian democracy. How Canadians understand democracy and politics was a theme that absorbed Trudeau throughout his life. He invited Canadians to think about the way in which liberty and democracy depended upon both the strength of citizen responsibility and the articulation of a sense of the common good. To this end, he tasked political leaders with the duty to inform and educate citizens about democracy. In sum, identifying Trudeau’s insights more accurately allows us to structure a political narrative that challenges current practices which fragment and weaken modern political relations between citizens. Retrieving Trudeau’s ideas, in other words, allows us to envision a truly Canadian “Machiavellian moment.” iv List of Abbreviations Used: IR = Institutional Republicanism TR = Theoretical Republicanism CR = Civic Republicanism (Neo–Aristotelianism) NRR = Neo–Roman Republicanism (Modern Republicanism) US = United States of America MP = Member of Parliament v Chapter One: Introduction Pierre Elliott Trudeau was, for all intents and purposes, clearly a classical republican despite the largely unchallenged assumption that he exemplified the ideas of liberal–individualism. When not being portrayed as the quintessential liberal by his supporters, he is accused of ideological inconsistency by his detractors. Trudeau should be understood neither as a straightforward liberal nor as ideologically confused. Rather, he espoused political positions that fit clearly into the tradition of classical republican political thought. Thus, this thesis argues that not only has Trudeau been consistently misrepresented as a political thinker, but it also holds that Trudeau’s vision for what Canada ought to be is timelier than ever. By understanding Trudeau’s insights more accurately, one can structure a political narrative that challenges current practices which fragment and weaken modern political relations between citizens. Retrieving Trudeau’s ideas, in sum, allows us to envision a truly Canadian Machiavellian Moment. Given the vigorous debate in the past few decades between individualists and communitarians, it is not surprising that commentators have placed Trudeau in one or the other ideological silo: either he is deeply individualist and indifferent to needs and aspirations of the community or, conversely, he is an advocate for a powerful centralized and regulatory state dedicated to wealth redistribution, and is too sensitive to the common good. In other words, Pierre Trudeau is too liberal for some, too collectivist for others –– a mystifying contradiction, indeed. Strictly confining Trudeau to one or the other silo may be a symptom of the predilection for binary categories (liberal/communitarian) 1 rather than the result of an accurate portrayal of one who employed language and constructed societal paradigms that spoke to a more nuanced and sophisticated thoughtfulness. If one reads Trudeau’s writings carefully, classical republican dispositions are clearly evident. Before going any further, it is important to delineate the terminology I use throughout the thesis. An entire chapter will be dedicated to the matter of defining and circumscribing the variants of republicanism, so there is no need for great detail here. When referring to ‘liberalism’, it is well understood that there are several variants and schools of thought that are housed under its banner. When the term ‘liberal’ is used in relation to Trudeau, it is usually in reference to hyper–individualist (or procedural) liberalism; it is within these parameters that the word will be used for this work. Most research has qualified the kinds of liberalism attributed to Trudeau (intellectual liberalism, American–style individualism, procedural, and so on), and throughout the thesis, I will make clear the type of liberalism that is under discussion so as to avoid confusion. It is understood that the type of liberalism attributed to Trudeau is not primarily the classical or the neo–liberal variants –– to argue otherwise would be a redundant and futile exercise since Trudeau’s rejected them outright in his autobiography (Trudeau 1993: 40). I challenge the customary ascription of the ‘liberal’ tag to Trudeau, and point out the presence of classical republican sensibilities in Trudeau’s thought. I then ask why Trudeau’s ideas were so egregiously misinterpreted and I explore whether his powerful ideas were presented by others in specific ways for particular purposes. I move now to give a more detailed explanation of my goals. It is important to stress that the focus of 2 this work is limited to discerning any republican influences and it will not engage in evaluations of republican-inspired policies implemented (or not implemented) during his time in office. Analyses of this kind are outside the scope of this work, and would require a separate and more complex study. As indicated, the objectives of this thesis are twofold. First, I try to understand Trudeau’s political thought by challenging the current practice of placing him within narrow liberal–individualist paradigms. To the contrary, I attribute to him a deeper, more complex, and distinct intellectual contribution to Canadian political thought. Casting Trudeau as a classical republican offers an appropriate picture of a forward–looking prime minister who placed great importance on the way in which Canadians thought about politics and society. This leads to my secondary objective: explaining how an erroneous interpretation of Trudeau’s thoughts has become the orthodox way of understanding him. It is one thing to show Trudeau’s use of a specific political rhetoric or language, it is quite another to ascertain how (or why) others have understood and interpreted that language to mean particular things. An oblique reading of Trudeau’s thought may not have been unintentional; rather, it is often the case that powerful ideas like those of Trudeau are presented in specific ways for precise purposes. It is therefore important to retrieve accurately Pierre Trudeau’s political thought because it has profound implications for how Canadians can view their political processes and their democracy in the context of modern social relations and structures. The Trudeau legacy– holders –– those who analyze a thinker’s ideas, interpret them, and perpetuate those interpretations –– have an interest in explaining his work thoroughly since he remains one of Canada’s most influential prime ministers. 3 Underlying the proposed research is the guiding assumption that although Trudeau’s legacy continues to be vastly scrutinized the features of his political thought remain basically unexplored. Trudeau envisioned a sophisticated form of collectivism without ever descending into communitarianism and, in doing so, he elaborated on the type of society and citizen necessary for the exercise of individual freedom, and the proper duties of, and relationships between,