An alternative Canada? Mel Watkins’ nationalism, socialism, and contributions to the new Canadian political economy

Abstract

Mel Watkins was an exceptional academic who worked so that Canadians could understand the distinct nature of this country and its economy. He was an intellectual who also described himself as a nationalist and a socialist, and, most unusually for an academic, as an activist. He opposed the US domination of the Canadian economy, tried hard to make the New Democratic Party a socialist party, and focused, in later parts of his life, on actions to ensure peace and confront globalization.

Keywords:

• Mel Watkins
• nationalism
• political economy
• socialism

Notes

Acknowledgments

I am grateful for the information provided by Kelly Creighton and Stephen Staples and for comments from Wallace Clement, Andrew Jackson, and Donald Swartz.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Watkins, “The Economics of Nationalism and the Nationality of Economics,” in Grant and Wolf, 197.

2 Watkins, “The Intellectual and the Public,” in Grant and Wolf, 257.

3 Watkins, “Foreign Ownership and Canadian Nationalism,” in Grant and Wolf, 138.

4 At this time, he maintained that “the withering away of the nation-state [would not] be a cause for tears.” Watkins, “Technology and Nationalism,” 293.

5 Watkins, “The Economics of Nationalism,” 197.

6 Watkins, “The Economics of Nationalism,” 189.

7 FIRA came into effect in 1973 and was effective for a time. Brian Mulroney changed its mandate radically when the name was changed to Investment Canada.

8 At least for a while, until Stephen Harper reversed it, Canadians needed to be considered before someone outside the country was hired for a university position.

9 In the twenty-first century, Canadian Studies experienced a decline across the country. When Mel was a visiting professor in the Centre for Canadian Studies at Simon Fraser University, he gave a lecture decrying the closing of the Centre scheduled for later in the year. Watkins, “The Proper Study of Canada.”

10 Philip Resnick distinguishes nicely between the nasty and the progressive type of nationalism when he refers to the “Janus-like character of nationalism, one face affirming the positive characteristics of a particular nationality or group, the other hostile and intolerant toward anything which might restrict it.” Resnick, Itineraries, 38.

11 Watkins, “The Intellectual and the Public,” 251–52.

12 Watkins in Russell, 299.

13 CBC Weekend Program, CBC Archives, November 1, 1969.

14 Watkins on Laxer, Rabble.

15 New Democratic Party, Waffle Movement.

16 The Waffle Manifesto, Items 12 and 13.

17 Watkins on the Waffle, Rabble Blog

18 Watkins on the Waffle, Rabble Blog

19 The Waffle Manifesto, Item. 24.

20 Watkins on Laxer, Rabble Blog.

21 Kelly Creighton, email message to author, September 24, 2020.

22 Watkins, “Economics, Politics and the Relevance of Social Democracy,” 238.

23 Clement, “Mel Watkins and the Foundations of the New Canadian Political Economy,” xx.

24 Watkins, “A Staple Theory of Economic Growth.”

25 Clement and Williams, 3.

26 Jim Stanford, The Staple Theory @50.

27 Grant and Wolfe in Stanford, 16.

28 Grant and Vosko, xi–xxxii.

29 Cameron, Rabble blog.

30 Stephen Staples, email message to author, September 24, 2020.

31 Watkins, “The Intellectual and the Public, in Grant and Wolfe, 252.

32 Watkins, “Bitumen as a Staple,” 130.

33 Stanford, 129.

34 Stanford, 128.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Marjorie Griffin Cohen

Marjorie Griffin Cohen is an economist who is Emeritus Professor in Political Science and Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.