A liberal democracy can survive for a while on institutional strength and widespread agreement. As long as most people are generally satisfied with how things are going (or have made peace with the status quo), it is easy to imagine that something like a social contract will keep things on track. Hamish MacAuley makes a persuasive case that many Canadians came of age politically between the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the 2008 financial crisis, when consensus was widespread and politics seemed optional, thus many chose to stay out. We abandoned democratic governing habits during prosperous times. Instead, we played politics. In response, McGill's Jacob T. Levy advocates for political action that rejects the status quo while also refusing to burn it all down or take our ball and go home. We should participate in politics, even if it is unsatisfying. When the foundations of our democratic structure or the rights of vulnerable people are jeopardized, it makes sense to delegate aut
In 2000, we were 82% more productive than the ordinary American worker. By 2020, that figure had declined to 77 percent. We perform worse on that scale than Italy, France, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Assume the French are doing better because of their vacation time, meal breaks, and rules prohibiting workers from taking work home. According to one study, the Canadian worker would need to work 30% more hours to match the productivity of the American worker. Canada's most productive corporations are falling behind global leaders. Ottawa is trying again by establishing the Canada Innovation Corporation (CIC) to promote innovation and R&D. Unfortunately, cajoling businesses to catch up will not work. The rationale may be found in the work of economist Edmund Phelps of Columbia University, who received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2006. His latest book, with the rather boring title of My Journey in Economic Theory—but don't let that put you off, it's a terrific rea