No
matter which direction you head--north, south east or
west--all you find is the great open space of the
prairie. Isolation is part of the psyche of this
sparsely populated prairie province, and this
abundance of great open space has uniquely shaped the
people, their politics, their economy, and their
relationship with the rest of North America.
Dependent on the export of agricultural products,
natural resources, and people, Saskatchewan's
political culture--a combination of geography and
human history--is firmly rooted in co-operatives,
trade unions, and social democratic politics.
While
progressive on many fronts, Saskatchewan is tormented
in other areas: racism against Aboriginal people
remains deeply entrenched; traditional patriarchal
values are strong; and with an economy based on
agriculture and the export of natural resources, the
province is struggling with free trade capitalism,
global warming and climate change. Long an anchor for
the political left in Canada, the progressive
populism of the past appears to be giving way to a
right wing populism as support for the Canadian
Alliance and the Saskatchewan Party increases.
Knowing
that history is necessary to understanding how a
society came to be what it is today, and using the
broad, interdisciplinary social science approach of
political economy analysis, Warnock traces
Saskatchewan's past in an attempt to understand the
present and glimpse some future. Along the way, he
tells the story of Saskatchewan, from inception to
centennial.
Table of Contents
JOHN
W. WARNOCK received his Ph.D from the American
University, Washington, D.C., School of International
Service. After working for the U.S. State Department,
he taught political economy, most recently at the
University of Regina. A Canadian citizen, he has a
long history of involvement in political and
environmental movements and is well known as a
popular journalist. See also: The Other Mexico.
448
pages, 6x9, bibliography, index
Paperback ISBN: 1-55164-244-1 $29.99
Hardcover ISBN: 1-55164-245-X $58.99
Cultural Studies /
Political Economy
June
2004
