League for Social Reconstruction

The League for Social Reconstruction (LSR) was a circle of Canadian socialist intellectuals officially formed in 1932, though it had its beginnings during a camping retreat in 1931. These academics were advocating radical social and economic reforms and political education. Industrialization, urbanization, war, and the Great Depression provoked formation of the LSR. Industrialization promoted urbanization, and the creation of elaborate bureaucratic systems, and, from the perspective of the LSR, here began the problem. The complexities of economy and society had grown, but government was infused with laissez-faire ideology and did not regulate finance or industry, or, as the LSR believed, government regulations suited private rather than public interest.

League for Social Reconstruction
AbbreviationLSR
FormationFebruary 23, 1932 (1932-02-23)
Dissolved1942
TypeThink tank
PurposeSocial change
Location
Region served
Canada
Official language
English
Main organ
Assembly
AffiliationsCo-operative Commonwealth Federation

Rationalistic moralism led the league to believe their expertise could stop the suffering of fellow Canadians, and rationalistic elitism led the league to believe they were best situated to unpack the intricacies of modern society. The league felt they should provide expert advice to government, but socialist ideology led the league to believe that Canadian government was debauched. Hence, in order to guide Canadians toward socialism, the LSR planned to institutionalize expert intellectual advice in an extra-political organization, and to act as an independent adjunct to public policy formation.

Promoting socialism, and working beyond politics, the LSR was able to transcend party alliances, and worked with both intellectuals and politicians to help quell the Depression through fiscal centralization and national social assistance. The significance of the league was its role as a concentrated group of intellectual elites who made social planning relevant in a Canadian context. The LSR formally disbanded in 1942 as the Canadian government was implementing a version of social planning as part of their World War II homefront plans.

Origins and ideology

The Canadian economy had boomed during the late 1920s and showed no sign of weakness, but during the 1930s the Great Depression swept across Canada and provoked mass unemployment, and this incited the LSR into action. The LSR believed that the roots of the Depression were laissez-faire capitalism and governance, and that the "free" market was anything but. Politicians worked closely with business, securing interest-free loans, developing tariffs, and managing labour disputes; in short: manipulating markets. A small group of political businessmen controlled public policy and economic development, and guided the centralization of finance and power into private hands. Widespread unemployment marked the Depression, and served to underscore financial inequity. In the eyes of the LSR, the problem facing Canada was not an economic depression, it was a corrupt political economy.

Faced with what they believed to be profiteering politicians, a group of men and women were united in their resolve that this could not stand. Three key influences stood out among the members of this group: religious affiliation, maturation in an environ of war and urbanization, and intellectual cultivation in the university environment. These characteristics defined the group's ideals, and set them apart from other social groups as a new elite; an exclusive group of righteous intellectual radicals.

Believing the existing system was not practicable, the league set about establishing a new system. The solution to end this and all depressions would be a planned economy, and the transformation of Canada from a royal commonwealth into a socialist commonwealth. To achieve this transformation, the league planned to perform research, and apply the results toward public education and public policy. However, because the LSR believed that the system was not only corrupt but corruptive, the league planned to lay their foundations beyond politics. Public education would take the form of books and lectures, and influence over policy would be achieved through the institutionalization of expert intellectuals. Politicians would call upon the league's extra-political organization to perform research, and recommend policy. In this way, the league hoped to minimize partisanship, and influence government policy writ large. However, the ideals of the LSR found them working closest with one political party in particular, the avowedly socialist Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF).

Political economy and the Great Depression

The Great Depression resulted in a protracted period of mass unemployment, and it was the impact unemployment had on Canadians that motivated the LSR into action. National unemployment peaked in the first half of 1933 at 32 per cent; but 32 per cent was only the average, in some towns unemployment reached nearly 50 per cent.[1] The LSR were roused, as they faced the ravages of unemployment in their classrooms, churches, and offices; "Everywhere hopelessness. A country without a purpose ... An industrious and intelligent people going to waste in idleness and despair."[2]

For the LSR, the Depression was the inexorable result of laissez-faire philosophy. This philosophy had spread since the Act of Union in 1840, which began a transition from power structures that favoured aristocracy to structures that favoured business. Responsible government arrived shortly after the union, and shifted influence from the governor to ministers. Powers that had previously been focused in the governor, became divided among ministers. No meaningful administrative structures were implemented to ensure that ministers remained responsive to the public, and ministers aligned themselves with capitalists. Free market governance became the consort of free market capitalization. Legislation regulating conflicts of interest did not exist, and politicians worked openly with business. One former prime minister made the marriage of business with politics strikingly clear when he stated "my politics are railroads."[3] The developmental history of Canada's political economy was central in the analysis of the LSR, and they later observed that "[m]onopolies are not an unlucky accident in our economic system, they are our economic system."[4]

Previous economic fluctuations had not created the need for federal unemployment programs, and policy and tradition dictated that assistance was a local issue, because traditionally it had been locally tractable. Under the British North America Act of 1867 (BNA), government received most revenue collection powers, and provinces became responsible for social relief, education, and health care. However, 60 years had passed since the BNA, and this was a different economy. The National Policy dramatically increased prairie populations, and when Depression hit, the prairies in particular could not manage social relief, and, along with other provinces, asked for federal aid. Federal politicians believed free markets would rebalance themselves, and refused assistance. Liberal Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King refused to attempt relief, claiming it would endanger the national budget. Conservative Prime Minister Richard Bedford Bennett declared that provinces should reduce wasteful spending. Laissez-faire ideology underpinned the policies of Liberals and Conservatives alike. Provinces became disgruntled, relationships with Ottawa became strained, and so it was that the crisis of capitalism triggered a crisis of federalism. "Here was the proof that the [political economy] built by the businessman and the old party politician was defective. The men who had presided over the construction of a complex modern civilization apparently did not know how to keep it running smoothly."[5]

Moralism, intellectualism, and elitism: foundations of the LSR

In November 1930, the problems of political economy were the focus of discussion for a group of "radically minded [professors]",[6] organized by the University of Toronto historian Frank Underhill. At the same time in Montreal, the legal scholar F. R. Scott was preparing a book examining the same problems.[7] In August 1931, the two men met and discovered they had developed a similar analysis; instability and depression were born of a capitalistic political economy, and any permanent solution would be born of democratic socialism. Underhill proposed the formation of a research organization, styled after the British Fabians, modified to suit Canada. The organization's ideas would be spread in two ways; directly into the public mind through local associations and literature; and directly into government through an institution of intellectual elites that politicians could requisition to perform research and recommend policy. Scott agreed. Underhill also believed a socialist political party would shortly appear, and that there "should be a group of intellectuals that could provide the new party with a coherent platform."[7] The men returned home, and Underhill established a group in Toronto while Scott did the same in Montreal.

These groups shared one important belief; that the objective study of social science yielded an inescapable conclusion: scientific socialism. Theirs was a scholarly disposition, and shared intellectualism aroused an elitist camaraderie. Educational distinction provided the group with a sense they were distinguished from the public and public servants;[8] that amongst all reformists, they alone possessed the expertise necessary to develop corrective policies. The result was a highly principled and elitist political reformism, however this reformism was not solely rationalistic in origin.

The twin inclinations of intellectual solidarity and moral solidarity motivated these academics. They were endowed not only with higher education, but also a belief in a higher purpose. Moralism was important to the group, and had been engendered through lifelong religious association. Though not all members remained religious in adulthood, most had been influenced by religion since youth. A partial survey of the league's leading members reveals the following; Frank Underhill: Flavelle scholar, raised a Presbyterian; F. R. Scott: Rhodes scholar, son of an archdeacon; Eugene Forsey: Rhodes scholar, son of a Methodist clergyman; Eric A. Havelock: respected economist, Christian Socialist; David Lewis: Rhodes scholar, a secular Jew, but deeply influenced by the Social Gospel and the Jewish Labour Movement.[9] Artists who were among its early members included Jean Palardy and Jori Smith, both of Montreal.[10]

Three important commonalities stood out among the LSR's founding members. Religion imbued an indelible morality; war and urbanization prompted sober reflection on suffering and reform; and modern education in the social sciences produced a propensity for rational analysis and a deterministic bent.

Scott and Underhill's groups exchanged drafts for a manifesto, attempting to strike a balance between pragmatism and radicalism. Their goal was to motivate all Canadians to critically examine Canada's political economy, and because the group did not want radicalism scaring potential members away, they opted to avoid inclusion of the one word that best explained their politics: socialism. Drafts were exchanged for many months, and eventually a meeting was scheduled in Toronto, for February 23, 1932. Seventy-five men and women attended the meeting, ratified the manifesto, and discussed the selection of a name. The Montreal group suggested the "League for Economic Democracy", however the winning moniker came from the Torontonians, and when proceedings concluded the League for Social Reconstruction was born.[11]

Social planning: the CCF and the Royal Commission

Later in 1932, the socialist party Underhill predicted materialized as the CCF. The CCF were social democrats, and held the same ideas as the LSR regarding state theory, and hence the CCF were the LSR's best option for access to parliament. The CCF was also the best option for another reason: J. S. Woodsworth, honorary president of the LSR, was also leader of the CCF. Because the LSR had been established outside the political system, the question was how to structure the relationship between the league and the CCF on the stated goal of education, and it was not clear they would stay if the LSR became the organ of a political party.[12] Woodsworth proposed a solution for members of the LSR who desired affiliation; CCF Clubs. Club membership brought affiliation, and LSR members could thus affiliate with the CCF independently of affiliation with the LSR. The LSR was thus able to move forward as an independent research organization.[13]

To promote and improve their ideas, the league discussed political economy with intellectuals and politicians across the nation. The LSR believed that because the Depression was national, its solution would be national as well, and they found sympathetic analyses amongst the intellectual community. Intellectuals concerned with social reform began to contemplate national reform.[14] Common ground between the LSR and intellectual elites provided a program for action. Intellectuals felt that they needed to convince Canadians that government should assume an interventionist role; financial and social policies should be implemented at the national level, and stability would flow top downwards.[15] Such an arrangement was not however possible under the BNA, and accordingly, the constitution would require modification.

By the mid-1930s, many modern intellectuals found work in government, and political bodies began to seek advice from extra-parliamentary intellectuals.[16] In 1935, extra-political intellectual elites were included in a national conference on Dominion-provincial relations, however the conference's primary purpose was to stop the flow of federal money to provinces, which was not what intellectuals had in mind.[17] The initiatives put into place after the conference proved unproductive, and the movement was transmuted into the Royal Commission on Dominion-Provincial Relations. The Commission was placed under the control of modern social scientists, including LSR member Frank Scott, and was instructed to provide recommendations for securing the economy and the federation. In 1940, the Commission reported that the Depression resulted from problems in the definition of the Canadian Dominion; the BNA had developed in the context of a wheat-timber-fish economy, and could not support Canada's mixed and industrializing economy. Industrial growth had increased the complication of economic activity, but the political system had not made corresponding advancements. To solve the Depression, the taxation powers and fiscal responsibilities of the federal and provincial governments required readjustment. The government should control all unemployment insurance programs, assume all provincial debts, collect all income taxes, and make equalization payments to needy provinces.

Premiers met the Prime Minister in 1941 to discuss the recommendations, and with war raging in Europe, the Premiers agreed to the Commission's proposals. After the war, Prime Minister King was eager to preserve the government's new powers, and a separate agreement was reached with the provinces, making the Commission's recommendations into permanent policy. Politicians of all stripes were eager to mitigate against the economic and social problems experienced after World War One, and acceded to the implementation of central planning measures. Reflecting on the Commission, historian Doug Owram noted that the report "was not so much the product of the public hearings as ... of the intellectual network of the 1930s.... Indeed, the results of the study had been conceived even before its appointment."[18] The report itself became a vehicle for shaping data in such a fashion that it supported the conclusions of the intellectuals who wrote it, with an eye towards converting its readers into advocates of centralization.[19]

The ideas of the LSR proved instrumental in introducing successful social planning measures into government, however disenchantment with socialism had grown as World War Two approached, and the LSR itself was reduced to the point of dissolution. With CCF related activities expanding, the league finally disbanded in 1942. In the mid-1940s two members of the LSR held prominent positions within the CCF: Frank Scott became the National Chairman,[20] and Professor George M. A. Grube became the president of the Ontario CCF.[21]

Publications

The LSR made its views known through the magazine New Commonwealth (formerly the Farmer's Sun, publication of the United Farmers of Ontario until purchased by Graham Spry). The group further contributed to Canada's political and intellectual fields with two books, Social Planning for Canada (1935) and Democracy Needs Socialism (1938). Canadian Forum was saved from bankruptcy by the LSR, which was acquired in the journal in 1936 and continued its publication. With these texts, social and economic change policies were popularized.[22]

Notes
  1. L.S.R. (1935), p. 13
  2. Lewis & Scott (2001), p. 1
  3. Christian & Campbell (1983), p. 79
  4. L.S.R. (1938), p. 8
  5. Owram (1986), p. 162
  6. Horn (1980), pp. 17–18
  7. Horn (1980), pp. 20-21
  8. Owram (1986), p. 138
  9. Horn (1980), pp. 19-26
  10. Niergarth, Kirk (2015). The Dignity of Every Human Being: New Brunswick Artists and Canadian Culture between the Great Depression and the Cold War. University of Toronto Press. p. 129. ISBN 9781442613898. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  11. Horn (1980), p. 27
  12. Horn (1980), p. 37
  13. Horn (1980), p. 38
  14. Owram (1986), pp. 223–226
  15. Owram (1986), pp. 225–226
  16. Owram (1986), p. 189
  17. Owram (1986), p. 228
  18. Owram (1986), p. 239
  19. Owram (1986), pp. 239–240
  20. Richardson, Keith (1988). "Scott, Francis Reginald". Canadian Encyclopedia. Edmonton, Alberta: Hurtig. Archived from the original on 2011-08-15.
  21. Special to the Star (1945-11-26). "Drew flouting 48-hour order is C.C.F. charge". The Toronto Daily Star. Toronto. p. 17.
  22. Horn (1980), p. vii

See also

References
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