Review

FREE TRADE AND THE NEW RIGHT

| AGENDA. By John Warnock. Published
. 1988 by New Star Books. 324 pages.

be at People’s Co-op Bookstore,
ancouver. $11.95 paperback.

= This book provides powerful ammuni-
Hon in the fight against the Mulroney free
trade deal. It focuses on the idea that the
agreement flows from the “New Right”
48enda to solve the persistent crisis in the
Capitalist world.
the introduction points out, support
for the deal comes mainly from big business
and its ideological supporters, while the
©PPosition comes mainly from popular sec-
! tors: labour, women, farmers, poor people,
rative Canadians, peace activists, the estab-
|| ‘shed churches, and some of the business
; «4nd financial interests who would lose
j Under free trade.
{ Author John Warnock, a political econ-
j ©Mist who has taught at four Canadian
*  anlversities, sees this as evidence of a grow-
; Mg class polarization in Canada.
€ New Right, we are told, is supporting
. ‘Tee trade while attacking the welfare state
j} Nd the trade unions and increasing the
s {¢ssure for deregulation and privatization.
| cording to Warnock, the neo-conserva-
Ve philosophy in the major capitalist coun-
f on has moved from the status of crank
‘i Vosophy to dominant ideology.
1 Warnock makes the case that the United
tates wants to move Canada closer to its
i Military command system, to gain greater

| . : :
_ 8cess to Canadian Strategic raw materials,

their already substantial control of the Can-
an economy as a whole.
fl fi The link between foreign policy and the
ne trade deal is demonstrated by the
tin hor’s reference to the March, 1985 meet-
8 between Prime Minister Mulroney and
* €sident Reagan in Quebec city. They
Steed to modernize the North American
“Tospace Defence system (NORAD) and
edged Support to the U.S. Strategic
efence Initiative (Star Wars).

. Subsequently, Canada agreed to the con-
ued testing of U.S. cruise missiles over
nadian territory. In the United Nations,

" nada joined a small group of 10 countries
Vote against a freezé on nuclear weapons
id the U.S. and the Soviet Union. In mak-
‘ eas points, the book explains how all
g ... ‘ands in contradiction to the major
*~aCe Initiatives of the Soviet Union.
a thes €author reminds his readers that while
of Oviet Union recognizes the sovereignty

‘doe nada over its Arctic waters, the USS.

Bs Not. Last October the Soviet Union

g ee an agreement with Canada to
ie oe ban nuclear weapons and demilitar-

Atlice € Arctic, but Canada refused. Instead,

a €deral government plans to purchase 10

Bisa Nuclear-powered submarines for Arc-

uty against “Soviet intrusions.”
sin arnock maintains there are no such
Ss 1ons. These submarines are to be
3 ght from Britain or France, but War-
Trap Points out that this purchase of British
Wi algar submarines can only be made
Men ‘S. permission, because the govern-
f t of that country owns the technology
the vessels’ power plants. There will be
Permission unless Canada agrees to a
ely integrated Canada-U.S. maritime

2 tegy.

ae listing of the business and financial
Tra Pings in Canada supporting the Free
7 tions. Agreement, and of those organiza-
Proy and Coalitions opposing it, should
uri © useful to anti-free trade campaigners
3 algo the next, crucial period. The book
8ives a lot of information to show that

cluding energy resources, and to extend :

Free tradetinked
to New Right agenda,
_hew book reveals

while the corporate elite stand to gain if the
deal goes through, the vast majority of
Canadians stand to lose. Such questions as
the threat to Canadian sovereignty, the

Canadian identity and Canadian culture are °

dealt with extensively.

The anti-free trade programs of the Can-
adian Catholic bishops, the mainstream
Protestant churches, the New Democratic
Party, the Canadian Labour Congress and
some trade unions, the Centre for Policy
Alternatives and a number of coalitions
against free trade are closely examined. It is
against this background that the author
poses a number of questions about extra-
parliamentary action:

@ How can an alliance be built and sus-
tained?

@ What should be the key strategies?

@ What is the relationship between coali-
tions and political parties, and with the New
Democratic party in particular?

@ Howcan such alliances be transformed
into a new political movement?

According to the author, the key chal-
lenge for these coalitions and alliances is to
move beyond single issues and to develop
the trust which permits long term strategies.
He maintains that the future success in this
regard depends on the trade union move-
ment which, he argues, should recognize the
necessity of political alliances with other
social forces. He is very critical of right-wing
social democracy and suggests that the
trade unions should not have any formal
ties with the New Democratic Party.

While there is merit in Warnock’s criti-
cism of social democratic governments,
including past provincial governments in
Canada, promoting the idea of trade union
disaffiliation from the NDP would not, in
the opinion of this reviewer, advance the
fight for unity around vital policy issues.
However, we can agree that organized
labour should not be a prisoner of the NDP,
or of any political party, that strong coali-
tions outside of Parliament are needed
(irrespective of which party forms the
government) and those coalitions must be
free to speak independently. That would
greatly strengthen the left inside the NDP.

The book contains a lot of solid facts
about the weaknesses of the U.S. trade
union movement, the much lower stand-
ards of social security for American people
and the inferior labour standards in their
country — all of which could be imposed
on the Canadian people if the deal goes
through and the American side continues to
press for a “level playing ground.” It also
includes a lot of good material about the
growing importance of Pacific Rim coun-
tries and about how Sweden, under a Social
Democratic government, is far short of
being the paradise it is sometimes pictured
to be. : ;

I rate this book as being very informative
on free trade and what it would mean for
Canada. It also has merit because it is a
polemic against the power over the working
people by the large transnational corpora-
tions and big business. In the opinion of the
author, we cannot have democracy and
create a humane society as long as we can be
blackmailed by those who move capital
abroad, shut down plants at will and des-

troy our communities.

Warnock poses a very significant ques-
tion: Can we bring capital under democratic
control? His reply is this: If Canada is drawn
even closer to the United States through the
free trade agreement, that option will cer-
tainly be closed.

— Jack Phillips

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peace plan.

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My donation of $

_ Saturday, September 24

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Pacific Tribune, September 14, 1988 « 7

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