The Tragedy of Progress: Marxism, Modernity and the Aboriginal Question (Basics from Fernwood Publishing)

Irving-Stephens, Danielle; Bedford, David

ISBN 10: 1552660508 / ISBN 13: 9781552660508

Published by Fernwood Publishing Co Ltd, 2001

About this Item

This book has been read. Pages crumpled to its top corners. However all pages intact with no highlighting or writing contained within. The spine remains undamaged with tight binding and the book is generally in good condition. Fast dispatch within and from the UK. 100% money back guarantee.

Seller Inventory # ABE-1676116705514

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Tragedy of Progress: Marxism, Modernity and the Aboriginal Question (Basics from Fernwood Publishing)
• Publisher: Fernwood Publishing Co Ltd
• Publication Date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1552660508
• ISBN 13: 9781552660508
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis

The Left in Canada has had an uneasy relationship with the Aboriginal struggle for justice. There is a natural sympathy and alliance between the working class and its political representatives who are struggling against the exploitation of labour and Aboriginal peoples and nations who are resisting the dispossession of their lands and the loss of their culture. Yet the co-incidence of interests has very rarely led to any support by labour and the Left for Aboriginal resistance. In fact, rather than being allies, they have often been opponents. In the Maritimes, for example, two recent events-the Paul and Marshall cases-have led to the extension of Aboriginal rights to harvest wood and fish. These decisions were met with silence and even opposition by the Left and its constituency. Why has the Left not embraced more enthusiastically the Aboriginal struggle? This book argues that the answer can be found in the analyses of, and assumptions about, progress. The Left has drawn upon analytic strains in Marxist thought which emphasize the inevitability and benefits of “progress,” defined as the increasingly intensified utilization of technologies, especially relating to production. Hence, the desire by many Aboriginal leaders to preserve a traditional material culture has seemed retrograde and reactionary to those on the Left who equate worker emancipation and technological progress. Furthermore, many on the Left argued that the right to self-determination of nations does not apply to the nation-fragments to which Aboriginal peoples have been reduced. Against such a reading, this book proposes that centring the Marxist notion of alienation can provide the basis for a more fruitful co-operation between the emancipatory projects of the Left and Aboriginal peoples.

About the Author

David Bedford received his PhD from York University and joined the Department of Political Science at the University of New Brunswick in 1989. His research interests include aboriginal politics, international relations theory and ancient political thought. His recent publications include On the Road with Dutch Mason (with Harvey Sawler), and The Tragedy of Progress: Marxism Modernity and the Aboriginal Question (with Dan Irving).