The Friendly Dictatorship [Hardcover]

This book is a must-read for anyone who believes that Canadians live in an efficient democracy, that MPs have power, or that the Parliamentary system is the most effective form of government.

Through specific examples, Simpson outlines just why Canada's government may work well on paper, but in practice leads to a truly grotesque charade of democracy.

His suggestions for a new, responsible government at the end of the book are well-reasoned and could easily work, but alas, because of the bureaucratic nightmare that is Canada's constitution, such reforms can never be achieved unless the Provinces all simultaneously decide that they love one another, and the Prime Minister agrees to surrender approximately 50% of his power. It makes me think Canada really does need a "Friendly Dictator", because at this point, a dictator seems like the only one who would be able to create real change in this country.

The only part I disagreed with in this book is his analysis of Canada's party politics. Simpson is a left-of-center "radical centerist" who loves the Canadian status quo and is frightened by anyone who proposes changing it. As such, he argues that the Alliance is forever doomed to suffer electoral defeat because it is too "radical" (ie: dares to challenge the status quo). Simpson calls on the party to create a platform to appeal to "the whole country" but what he actually means is a "platform to apppeal to Ontario." I'm always suspicious of Canadian authors who claim to be able to speak for "what Canada wants" or "how Canadians think" with such authority.

Regardless, this is an excellent book that should be read by all.

Simpson confuses soft-left ideology with a non-ideological outlook, saying Canadians do not elect on the basis of ideology. His own information contradicts this, with the country split every election, Simpson shows, on a wide range of ideological issues. But we always see the Liberals capturing the majority of votes in Ontario -- the decisive province -- and very little outside it. This is always an attempt to placate Quebec, never fully assimilated into Confederation. It is this ongoing source of sedition that leads panicky Ontarians to trump the best interests of the rest of the country.

It is also the assumption of most left-wing journalists that their view is the only one that sensible and logical people should hold. Simpson favors so many policies that can only be applied in a top-down, elitist way -- such as Canada has suffered under since the 1960s -- that he never really comes to any conclusions about just what system would be best for us. He knows the policies which he favors, which have been put in place by the "friendly dictatorship," would be among the first to go, were Canadians allowed a truly democratic system, i.e. we would see capital punishment, some private health care, etc.

So Simpson really just dances around the issue of reform, while breathing a sigh of relief, I would guess, that the friendly dictatorship he decries will still be in place when he wakes up tomorrow morning, regardless of this rather disingenuous effort.

This book finally points out what I have thought for quite a while now: Canadian voters have no one to complain about other than themselves for our sad political state. People in this country have been blind to what Jean Chretien has done to this country and I put the blame on everyone who has voted Liberal in elections since 1993. This book makes it clear that the people of Canada have to wake up and start voting for other parties or the Liberals will continue to waste our money and embarrass us on a global scale. I just hope people in Canada realise this before we really do become a one-party country. I think this book is a must for all Canadians to read.