1. Introduction Part I: The Context of Canada's Tax System 2. The Tax System and the Politics... more 1. Introduction Part I: The Context of Canada's Tax System 2. The Tax System and the Politics of Ideas 3. The Tax System as Economic Constitution 4. The Tax Policy Community: Institutions and Processes 5. The Public Tax Policy Process: Agenda-Setting, Interest Groups, and Public Opinion Part II: The Politics of Taxation from Carter to Martin 6. The Tax Reform Pendulum: The Politics of Taxation During the Trudeau Era 7. The Mulroney Legacy: Tax Reform, Free Trade, and the Deficit Trap 8. The Politics of Sales Tax Reform 9. Chretien, Martin, and the Politics of Deficit Reduction Part III: The Politics of Taxation in the Twenty-first Century: Balancing National, Regional, and Global Pressures 10. Living Standards and the Politics of Personal Taxation 11. Globalization, Domestic Politics, and Business Taxation 12. Taxation, Federalism, and the Provinces 13. Taxation, the Family, and Civil Society Conclusion: The Politics of Taxation and the New Economy Glossary Selected Bibliography Index
Canadian Journal of Political Science, Sep 1, 2008
and consumed. Nevertheless, there are some interesting discussions that raise important yet often... more and consumed. Nevertheless, there are some interesting discussions that raise important yet often under-examined dimensions of global culture, including issues of rights management and the crucial intermediary role which rights brokers play in cultural spectacles such as Euro ’96 and an intriguing theorization of the brand as a proactive, virtual colonization of the possible ~as opposed to the appropriation of the real!. Overall, however, the book is quite disappointing in terms of its failure to offer any normative foundation for a critique of the global culture industry. Where Adorno and Horkheimer sought to expose the complicity of capitalist culture in sustaining a catastrophic system of domination ~both over humanity and the natural world!, Lash and Lury are largely content to describe the chaotic, heterogeneous flows through which objects move in and out of the lives of consumers who seemingly have ample opportunity to use them as they see fit. Symptomatic of this approach is the book’s treatment of animation as an emerging cultural form that contributes “to a culture of play, of returning the adolescent or the adult to a state of childhood, in which characters ‘pop up’ to enliven the everyday world” ~105!. The associated discussion of how consumers make use of the merchandise that accompanies such media reads more like a marketing treatment than a critical analysis, euphorically concluding that “as companions to the mundane routines of daily life—as alarm clocks, as mugs, as key-rings, as back-packs—the resulting merchandise offers the reminder of a childlike ability to be beside oneself, to be transported beyond oneself ” ~103–04!. Such a celebratory mode is entirely oblivious to how the media-licensing-merchandise dynamic, inaugurated by the spectacular success of the Star Wars franchise and perfected in the deregulatory restructuring of children’s media in the United States during the 1980s, has facilitated the hyper-commercialization of children’s culture which, among other effects, has seriously eroded the creative, imaginative dimensions of children’s play. In their chapter on the “post-conceptual” aesthetics of the so-called YBA, Lash and Lury explain that this new generation of artists “operates in a world in which classical critique is no longer possible.... At stake is a much more Nietzschean politics of affirmation: of amor fati, and the inescapable grain of the empirical” ~72–73!. At best, this art participates in the “ecstasy of communication” while, at worst, “it gives us a set of idle references: a set of unproblematic cross-media utterances” ~75!. Unwittingly, perhaps, the authors provide a fitting judgment not only for a certain species of contemporary art but also for their own resolutely post-critical theory. As a collection of highly specialized case studies of different cultural commodities seasoned with dense theoretical musings, this book will be of interest to scholars of consumer culture. However, those looking for a critical account of the global industries that dominate the production and distribution of culture and communication are advised to look elsewhere.
Industrial Policy for National Champions is a collection of essays initially authored in 2007, pr... more Industrial Policy for National Champions is a collection of essays initially authored in 2007, primarily by European economists, notionally to answer the question “do we need national or European champions?” This collection of essays both embodies and analyzes intra-European divisions over “the proper role of industrial policy, with preferences ranging from neoliberal, (relatively ‘free market’) approaches to strong government support for national champions” in particular circumstances (p. 3). These questions may seem somewhat abstract to an American audience, even if U.S. government policies have often favored strategic firms or sectors in the service of national security or technological sovereignty. However, they have become increasingly germane with the renewal of exploratory talks pointing toward a possible U.S.–European economic partnership, the several ongoing bilateral regulatory cooperation initiatives launched by the Obama administration, and continuing debates over the growing role of state-owned and influenced enterprises (SOEs) among other “national champions” in the global marketplace. The essays in this volume demonstrate how versatile and slippery the concept of national champions has become in the literature on trade, investment, and competition policies. Despite this broader context, most of the book’s chapters involve technical economic analyses of specific problems or stylized case studies. This emphasis makes it most useful to specialists in industrial organization and strategic trade and investment policies, while limiting its accessibility to a broader audience. Each of the book’s three sections addresses different models in the economic literature: dynamic economy models subject to the effects of continuing innovation, political economy models of decision-making processes, and “classical models based on market imperfections in static equilibrium” in situations involving credit rationing, heavily regulated industries, and prospective foreign takeovers of major national firms. Aghion’s chapter on industrial policy analyzes arguments for infant industry protection from foreign competition, particularly those relating to government incentives for innovation in dynamic market settings. His
1. Introduction Part I: The Context of Canada's Tax System 2. The Tax System and the Politics... more 1. Introduction Part I: The Context of Canada's Tax System 2. The Tax System and the Politics of Ideas 3. The Tax System as Economic Constitution 4. The Tax Policy Community: Institutions and Processes 5. The Public Tax Policy Process: Agenda-Setting, Interest Groups, and Public Opinion Part II: The Politics of Taxation from Carter to Martin 6. The Tax Reform Pendulum: The Politics of Taxation During the Trudeau Era 7. The Mulroney Legacy: Tax Reform, Free Trade, and the Deficit Trap 8. The Politics of Sales Tax Reform 9. Chretien, Martin, and the Politics of Deficit Reduction Part III: The Politics of Taxation in the Twenty-first Century: Balancing National, Regional, and Global Pressures 10. Living Standards and the Politics of Personal Taxation 11. Globalization, Domestic Politics, and Business Taxation 12. Taxation, Federalism, and the Provinces 13. Taxation, the Family, and Civil Society Conclusion: The Politics of Taxation and the New Economy Glossary Selected Bibliography Index
Canadian Journal of Political Science, Sep 1, 2008
and consumed. Nevertheless, there are some interesting discussions that raise important yet often... more and consumed. Nevertheless, there are some interesting discussions that raise important yet often under-examined dimensions of global culture, including issues of rights management and the crucial intermediary role which rights brokers play in cultural spectacles such as Euro ’96 and an intriguing theorization of the brand as a proactive, virtual colonization of the possible ~as opposed to the appropriation of the real!. Overall, however, the book is quite disappointing in terms of its failure to offer any normative foundation for a critique of the global culture industry. Where Adorno and Horkheimer sought to expose the complicity of capitalist culture in sustaining a catastrophic system of domination ~both over humanity and the natural world!, Lash and Lury are largely content to describe the chaotic, heterogeneous flows through which objects move in and out of the lives of consumers who seemingly have ample opportunity to use them as they see fit. Symptomatic of this approach is the book’s treatment of animation as an emerging cultural form that contributes “to a culture of play, of returning the adolescent or the adult to a state of childhood, in which characters ‘pop up’ to enliven the everyday world” ~105!. The associated discussion of how consumers make use of the merchandise that accompanies such media reads more like a marketing treatment than a critical analysis, euphorically concluding that “as companions to the mundane routines of daily life—as alarm clocks, as mugs, as key-rings, as back-packs—the resulting merchandise offers the reminder of a childlike ability to be beside oneself, to be transported beyond oneself ” ~103–04!. Such a celebratory mode is entirely oblivious to how the media-licensing-merchandise dynamic, inaugurated by the spectacular success of the Star Wars franchise and perfected in the deregulatory restructuring of children’s media in the United States during the 1980s, has facilitated the hyper-commercialization of children’s culture which, among other effects, has seriously eroded the creative, imaginative dimensions of children’s play. In their chapter on the “post-conceptual” aesthetics of the so-called YBA, Lash and Lury explain that this new generation of artists “operates in a world in which classical critique is no longer possible.... At stake is a much more Nietzschean politics of affirmation: of amor fati, and the inescapable grain of the empirical” ~72–73!. At best, this art participates in the “ecstasy of communication” while, at worst, “it gives us a set of idle references: a set of unproblematic cross-media utterances” ~75!. Unwittingly, perhaps, the authors provide a fitting judgment not only for a certain species of contemporary art but also for their own resolutely post-critical theory. As a collection of highly specialized case studies of different cultural commodities seasoned with dense theoretical musings, this book will be of interest to scholars of consumer culture. However, those looking for a critical account of the global industries that dominate the production and distribution of culture and communication are advised to look elsewhere.
Industrial Policy for National Champions is a collection of essays initially authored in 2007, pr... more Industrial Policy for National Champions is a collection of essays initially authored in 2007, primarily by European economists, notionally to answer the question “do we need national or European champions?” This collection of essays both embodies and analyzes intra-European divisions over “the proper role of industrial policy, with preferences ranging from neoliberal, (relatively ‘free market’) approaches to strong government support for national champions” in particular circumstances (p. 3). These questions may seem somewhat abstract to an American audience, even if U.S. government policies have often favored strategic firms or sectors in the service of national security or technological sovereignty. However, they have become increasingly germane with the renewal of exploratory talks pointing toward a possible U.S.–European economic partnership, the several ongoing bilateral regulatory cooperation initiatives launched by the Obama administration, and continuing debates over the growing role of state-owned and influenced enterprises (SOEs) among other “national champions” in the global marketplace. The essays in this volume demonstrate how versatile and slippery the concept of national champions has become in the literature on trade, investment, and competition policies. Despite this broader context, most of the book’s chapters involve technical economic analyses of specific problems or stylized case studies. This emphasis makes it most useful to specialists in industrial organization and strategic trade and investment policies, while limiting its accessibility to a broader audience. Each of the book’s three sections addresses different models in the economic literature: dynamic economy models subject to the effects of continuing innovation, political economy models of decision-making processes, and “classical models based on market imperfections in static equilibrium” in situations involving credit rationing, heavily regulated industries, and prospective foreign takeovers of major national firms. Aghion’s chapter on industrial policy analyzes arguments for infant industry protection from foreign competition, particularly those relating to government incentives for innovation in dynamic market settings. His
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Papers by Geoffrey Hale