Tutorial: Is the Political Culture of Canada Becoming Americanized?

Anthony A. Peacock: Socialism as Nationalism: Why the Alleged Americanization of Canadian Political Culture is a Fraud

Article Summary:

In this article, the author discusses the fact that all the reasons why Canadians feel they are becoming Americanized are false. He does not really give a clear answer about where he stands on the topic, because whether or not Canada is becoming Americanized is not so much the issue that he is dealing with in the article. Starting with his thesis statement “The proposition, supported by Canadian nationalists, that Canada’s political culture is distinguishable from its American counterpart by our greater collectivism or our greater use of public enterprise, is, I submit, a fraud”, he goes on to discuss the reasons why Canadians feel they are becoming Americanized, and to try to prove each one wrong.

He also argues the fact that Canadian nationalists are trying to make us believe that we are different from the United States, but really we’re not. He comments on the fact that although Canadian nationalists want us to think that we are culturally different from the USA, we all “prefer the same television, the same music, the same sports, and the same magazines, enjoy the same cuisine, and vacation at the same destinations. They seek the same things out of life.” He goes on to give further examples to back up his point. For example, many Canadians feel that Canada is different from the USA because we are bilingual. Peacock points out that although technically Canada is referred to as a “bilingual” country, we are not bilingual at all, and for the most part the only Canadians who speak French live in Quebec. Our health care and welfare systems are also another point that the author comments on. He mentions that many people feel Canada is becoming Americanized because there has been talk of converting health care and welfare systems to privately-owned rather than government-run institutions. Peacock argues that doing this would not make Canada more Americanized, because they would not be making this change to be more like the United States, but rather because it would be realized that their previous system was “costing more and more to provide less and less”, and that a privately-run system would be more beneficial.

He also explains that while many nationalists believe that one major difference between Canada and the USA is that Canadians have more of a sense of community while Americans are more individualized, he feels that the opposite is true. He believes that in the USA, people have more of a sense of community because they have to work harder to make their institutions run, whereas in Canada it is all handed to us by the government. Peacock tends to go back and forth in this article on his views about whether or not Canada is in fact becoming Americanized. His point is not to prove whether or not this is the case, but rather to explain his views on the fact that the reasons Canadians feel they are becoming Americanized are incorrect. He goes on to say that we are being persuaded to believe these reasons by the government, university professors, and the media.