Poverty, Politics and Participation: Radical Anti-Poverty Organizing in a Neoliberal Ontario by David Newberry BA, Trent University, 2008 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of Political Science David Newberry, 2008 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. ISBN:978-0-494-47356-6 ii Supervisory Committee Poverty, Politics and Participation: Radical Anti-Poverty Organizing in a Neoliberal Ontario by David Newberry BA, Trent University, 2008 Supervisory Committee Dr. Matt James (Department of Political Science) Supervisor Dr. Warren Magnusson (Department of Political Science) Departmental Member Dr. Dennis Pilon (Department of Political Science) Departmental Member iii Abstract Supervisory Committee Dr. Matt James (Department of Political Science) Supervisor Dr. Warren Magnusson (Department of Political Science) Departmental Member Dr. Dennis Pilon (Department of Political Science) Departmental Member In this thesis I explore neoliberalism and resistance to neoliberalism by focusing on the relatively recent rise of radical, local anti-poverty organizations in Canada, particularly on the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) in Toronto. To accomplish this exploration, I present a brief history of neoliberalization in two ways: first in theory, exploring the phenomenon in general, and then in a more specific context, through the study of neoliberalization in Ontario. Special emphasis is given to the ways in which contemporary processes of neoliberalization tend to discourage collective action and movement formation, and encourage the ideological, discursive, and practical depoliticization of issues and communities. In addition, I suggest that Ontario’s neoliberalization has led mainstream left forces to retreat to a more moderate support base in the middle class, leaving poor people and anti-poverty activists with little potential for meaningful participation in political processes. The lack of avenues for participation, I argue, discourages the development the development of a sense of agency for poor people and anti-poverty activists. This agency is framed here as political dignity. After presenting a history OCAP, I conclude by suggesting that radical, local anti-poverty organizations make an important contribution to combating some of the outcomes of neoliberalization presented here. By using a broad range of scholarship (including working-class focused sociology, post-colonial theory, and others), I argue that OCAP’s key contribution to anti- neoliberal struggles is the way in which the organization encourages political dignity building through engaged, confrontational participation. iv Table of Contents Supervisory Committee...................................................................................................................ii Abstract..........................................................................................................................................iii Table of Contents........................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................... v Introduction................................................................................................................................... 1 Goals and Method ....................................................................................................................... 4 Politics and Depoliticization........................................................................................................ 6 Chapter One: The Road to Neoliberalism.................................................................................. 14 Introduction............................................................................................................................... 14 The Keynesian ‘Compromise’ and the New Left ....................................................................... 19 Neoliberalism and the New Common Sense .............................................................................. 24 Neoliberalism in Ontario ........................................................................................................... 31 Chapter Conclusions.................................................................................................................. 42 Anti-Poverty Responses......................................................................................................... 44 Chapter Two: A Case Study of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty ................................... 45 Origins and Organization........................................................................................................... 47 Criticisms of Radical Anti-Poverty Movements......................................................................... 65 Driving Wedges or Building Bridges? ................................................................................... 67 Democracy or Secrecy? ......................................................................................................... 75 Who Participates?.................................................................................................................. 80 Securing Securitization.......................................................................................................... 82 Chapter Conclusions.................................................................................................................. 83 Chapter 3: Participation, Politicization and Political Dignity................................................... 86 Understanding Depoliticization: ‘Injured’ Subjectivities and the Vicious Cycle......................... 87 Undoing the Injury: The Virtuous Cycle.................................................................................... 91 Overcoming Barriers to Participation......................................................................................... 99 Individual Responsibility vs. Autonomy and Self Determination ............................................. 100 Chapter Conclusions................................................................................................................ 102 Conclusions................................................................................................................................ 104 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 107 v Acknowledgments First and foremost, I would like to thank my committee, who have let me hang around in their offices far more than I would ever let someone like me hang around in my office. They challenged me, on many occasions, to be better, and I am thankful. In particular, my supervisor Dr. Matt James has been an outstanding mentor, and provided endless help navigating the complicated (and inter- related) worlds of political science literature, classic rock, and high-end stereo purchasing. Two of my fellow grad students – Katrina Chapelas and Jen Bagelman – read earlier drafts of this thesis and provided invaluable comments. I have been very lucky to share this small piece of the ivory tower with them, and the rest of the outstanding graduate student body at the University of Victoria. My friend Seb Bonet and his family shared their house with me whenever I needed it. Their generosity made this process much easier. The Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada provided me with the material support necessary to live one year as an autonomous individual free of the constraints of the labour market. For this I am thankful. I spent it well. I am exceptionally lucky to have been given this experience. I cannot imagine a better environment for learning than the one provided by the faculty and students at the University of Victoria Finally, I am eternally grateful to my partner Elizabeth, whose editorial support, along with her remarkable patience, love, understanding, and willingness to do more than her share of the dishes has made this process possible. Introduction In his popular book, The End of Politics, Carl Boggs wrote that depoliticization “is perhaps the dominant motif of our times.”1 Yet, at the same time, ‘our times’ have seen a proliferation of some rather unconventional political activity, particularly at a local level. While the protest politics of the 1990s and beyond are often identified with the so-called ‘anti-globalization movement’, and generally remembered by the massive anti-neoliberal trade protests of Seattle, Quebec City, and Genoa, something else was also taking place.2 Even before Seattle revealed the potential existence of a broad-based movement that rejected at least some tenets of contemporary capitalism, a series of smaller, more localized groups in Canada, often led by marginalized communities, were responding to neoliberalism’s day-to-day effects. These local movements engaged in smaller-scale protest actions: confronting a single municipal or provincial government; occupying local welfare offices; staging raucous political theatre; and generally acting in a disruptive way, refusing to accept ‘business as usual’ throughout a rapidly neoliberalizing North America.3 And yet, scholars like Boggs and