A
right-wing populist, in an oil-rich province, Ralph
Klein has been a one-man wrecking crew dismantling
Alberta's public sector and remaking the province
into a freewheeling, capitalist paradise. This book
re-examines Klein's Alberta after a decade of
deficit-slashing, tax-cutting conservatism.
First
elected in 1993 on a platform of "common sense
revolution," a decade later Ralph Klein's
Conservative party remain in power, but the gloss is
off its "revolution." Deficits and debt
have been eliminated, but new problems and new issues
have arisen, such as energy deregulation and water
shortages. Efforts to export the revolution--to
remake Canada in Alberta's image--have stalled, with
the defeat of the Harris Conservatives in Ontario and
the collapse of the Reform and Alliance parties
federally. Meanwhile, at the world wide level,
neo-liberal globalization--all the rage in the early
90s--is now in retreat, replaced by war, threats of
terrorism, and growing economic instability.
The
Return Of The Trojan Horse updates
the original text and goes beyond to examine the
long-term lessons of the Klein revolution and to
suggest where Alberta and Canada may be headed in the
next decade. An original compilation of critical
essays on Alberta's policies, written by some of
Alberta's (and Canada's) best authors who come from a
wide spectrum of viewpoints and backgrounds, all
blending insight with journalistic flair.
…gives
anyone a long list of serious questions to ask
about the government's course of action. This
book deserves, nay demands, a read. --Edmonton
Journal
Widely
excerpted, cited and debated, Trojan Horse has
had the effect of giving Albertans permission to
fight their own government.
--Globe and Mail
Peel
away the careful packaging of the Klein
government's record and what have you got? This
book tells the story. Facts, clear prose, and the
courage to tell it straight make it essential
reading.
--Canadian Forum
Table of Contents
Contributors
are: Julie Black, Laura Bonnett, Keith Brownsey, Jim
Byrne, Greg Flanagan, Tom Fuller, Lois Harder, Trevor
Harrison, Tammy Horne, Patricia Hughes-Fuller,
William Johnston, Harvey Krahn, Jean Lafrance, Gordon
Laird, Diane Wishart Leard, Shannon Sampert, Lynette
Shultz, Dennis Soron, Yvonne Stanford, Gillian
Steward, Alison Taylor, Brian Titley, Linda Trimble,
and Ian Urquhart.
TREVOR
HARRISON is currently an associate professor at the
University of Lethbridge and research director for
the Parkland Institute, an Alberta-based think tank
dedicated to examining public policy issues. He is
the author of Of Passionate
Intensity: Right-Wing Populism and the Reform Party
of Canada and Requiem for a
Lightweight: Stockwell Day and Image Politics.
360
pages, 6x9, bibliography
Paperback ISBN: 1-55164-254-9 $26.99
Hardcover ISBN: 1-55164-255-7 $55.99
Politics / Cultural
Studies
May
2005
