People, Resources and Power
Critical Perspectives on Underdevelopment and Primary Industries in the Atlantic Region.
Burrill, Gary; McKay, Ian
Publisher: Gorsebrook Research Institute, Fredericton, Canada
Year Published: 1987
Pages: 202pp ISBN: 0-919107-10-9
Library of Congress Number: HC117.A8P46 Dewey: 338.09715
Resource Type: Book
Cx Number: CX3466
This book is about resources and the reasons why the working people of the Atlantic region have derived so little benefit from the natural wealth which surrounds them.
Abstract:
The introduction to this intelligent volume states its purpose clearly: "This book is about resources and the reasons why the working people of the Atlantic region have derived so little benefit from the natural wealth which surrounds them." Most of the articles come from New Maritimes, an independent regional monthly which has made a reputation for itself for the quality of its reporting and analysis.
The answer, as the articles make it clear, has to do with power: economic power, and the political power that is tied to it. "Whether offshore oil and gas deposits are explored, whether the forests are sprayed, whether our fish are harvested with freezer trawlers, whether our mines are open or closed -- not only are we not consulted about these life and death matters, but we are rarely even given the background information others have used the make these decisions for us. Who wields economic and political power, and for what ends? These questions have been left almost completely unexplored in the Atlantic region."
People, Resources, and Power is divided into four parts, on agriculture, fishing, forestry, and mining and energy. An excellent introduction concisely presents the framework of analysis, while the afterword raises the question of what the future holds, raising the prospect of an alliance between workers and primary producers in the region. This is a solidly analytical book, well grounded in fact, a model work of political economy which Canadians concerned with social change can learn much from.
[Abstract by Ulli Diemer]
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Dependency and Resources in the Atlantic Region: An Introduction
Further Reading: Dependency and Resources
Part I: Agriculture
Introduction: The New Corporate Clearances
Potato Capitalism: McCain and Industrial Farming in New Brunswick - Tom Murphy
From Self-Reliance to Dependence to Struggle: Agribusiness and the Politics of Potatoes in New Brunswick - Darrell McLaughlin
The Political Education of Bud the Spud: Producers and Plebiscites on Prince Edward Island - Marie Burge
Leading the Way: An Unauthorized Guide to the Sobeys Empire - Eleanor O'Donnell
Further Reading: Agriculture
Part II: Fishing
Introduction: "The Tragedy of the Commons" or the Common Tragedies of Capital?
The Poor Man's Machiavelli: Michael Kirby and the Atlantic Fisheries - Rick Williams
The Restructuring That Wasn't: The Scandal at National Sea - Rick Williams
Underdeveloping the P.E.I. Fishery - Bernie Conway
Of Pride and Prices: Miminegash, Moss and the Multinationals - Mary Boyd
Further Reading: Fishing
Part III: Forestry
Introduction: From Towering Pines to the Multinationals' Pulpstand
The New Forest in Nova Scotia - Julia McMahon
A Reader's Guide to the Spray - Christopher Majka
The Political Economy of Pesticide and Herbicide Testing in New Brunswick - Bruce Livesey
Underdeveloping Nova Scotia's Forests, and the Role of Corporate Counter-Intelligence - Aaron Schneider
Further Reading: Forestry
Part IV: Mining and Energy
Introduction: The Hidden Injuries of Dependence
The Political Economy of and Illusion: The Strange Case of Nova Scotia's Vanishing Offshore - Brian O'Neill
The Sinking of the Ocean Ranger, 1982: The Politics of a Resource Tragedy - Brian O'Neill
Springhill 1958 - Ian McKay
Old Wounds: Reopening the mines of St. Lawrence - Alan Story
Further Reading: Mining and Energy
Is There Life After Underdevelopment? An Afterword - Rick Williams
The Contributors
Subject Headings
