Canadian Marxists and the Search for a Third Way

314 Pages·2000·19.785 MB·English

by  J. Peter Campbell

Canadian Marxists and the Search for a Third Way
In this study of the theory and practice of four Canadian socialists
whose names are known but whose lives, thoughts, feelings, and politi-
cal beliefs are not, Peter Campbell explores the ideas and actions of
four individuals - Ernest Winch, Bill Pritchard, Arthur Mould, and Bob
Russell - who made major contributions to the history of the Canadian
left. Campbell traces their childhoods in late Victorian England and
Scotland, explores their early political and religious influences, details
their involvement in the labour and socialist movements of Canada,
and assesses their legacy to the Canadian working class.
These four Canadian socialists belonged to a much larger group
Campbell calls "Marxists of the third way." These Marxists fought
long and hard for a classless society, but did so as socialists who were
very much shaped by the influence of religion, respect for the constitu-
tionality of the British parliamentary system, and the desire to main-
tain honesty, fair dealing, and democratic politics in the trade union
and socialist movements. They opposed both the reformism of social
democracy and the emphasis placed on armed struggle by the Commu-
nist Party. Marxism of the third way was not, Campbell argues, just a
middle course between the two tendencies but rather a comprehensive,
alternative Marxist politics.
In telling the story of these four Canadians, Campbell demonstrates
that histories of the Canadian left need to pay more attention to the role
of ideas in shaping the lives and actions of Canadian workers. Marxists
of the third way, and other Canadian socialists, deserve more recogni-
tion as theorists than has previously been acknowledged. Recognizing
this requires that Marxism be seen as a dynamic system of thought
passed from leaders to followers and back again, not a static prop used
to support party ideologues. Marxists of the third way were guided not
by a Marxist vision of economic determinism, dogmatism, and authori-
tarianism but by a vision of the education and empowerment of the
workers themselves.
PETER CAMPBELL is a research assistant at the Disraeli Project, Queen's
University.
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Canadian Marxists
and the Search
for a Third Way
PETER CAMPBELL
McGill-Queen's University Press
Montreal & Kingston • London • Ithaca
McGill-Queen's University Press 1999
ISBN 0-7735-1848-7
Legal deposit fourth quarter 1999
Bibliotheque nationale du Quebec
Printed in Canada on acid-free paper
This book has been published with the help of a grant
from the Humanities and Social Sciences Federation of
Canada, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and
Humanities Research Council of Canada.
McGill-Queen's University Press acknowledges the
financial support of the Government of Canada through
the Book Publishing Industry Development Program
(BPIDP) for its activities. We also acknowledge the
support of the Canada Council for the Arts for our
publishing program.
Canada
Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data
Campbell,]. Peter, 1952.-
Canadian Marxists and the search for a third way
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7735-1848-7
1. Winch, Ernest Edward, 1879-1957. 2. Pritchard,
W.A., b.1888. 3. Mould, Arthur, 1879-1961. 4. Russell,
Robert Boyd, 18 8 8-19 64. 5. Labor movement - Canada
- History. 6. Socialists - Canada - Biography. 7. Labor
leaders - Canada - Biography. I. Title.
FC3218.1.C34 2000 331'.O92'271 C99-901O55-7
F1060.9.C34 2000
This book was typeset by Typo Litho Composition Inc.
in 10/12. Sabon.
for Richard
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 3
1 Ernest Edward Winch: The Administrator of
Class Struggle 31
2 William Arthur Pritchard: The Marxist as
Worker Intellectual 73
3 Arthur Mould: The Conscience of Class Conflict 124
4 Robert Boyd Russell: The Search for a Third Way 168
Conclusion 220
Notes 231
Bibliography 275
Index 289
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Acknowledgments
In the spirit of opposition I begin where others end. My wife, Anna,
and my children, Sarah and Aidan, have put up with me for more years
than I care to remember, and helped me through many late nights of
self-doubt. They have made me a better scholar, father, and friend.
I owe a great debt of gratitude to the entire staff of the Queen's his-
tory office, especially to Ruth Bryson and Margaret Nash. Both retired
during the transformation of my thesis into this book; maybe they were
trying to tell me something. I also wish to thank the archivists and staff
at the Burnaby Village Heritage Museum, the Metro Toronto Reference
Library, the Provincial Archives of Manitoba, the Public Archives of
Ontario, the National Archives of Canada, Queen's University Archives,
Simon Fraser University Archives, the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Li-
brary, the University of British Columbia, the United Church Archives
in Toronto, the University of Western Ontario, and York University. A
very special thanks goes to George Brandak at UBC for his help,
humour, and that free lunch at the Faculty Club. Thanks as well to
Gregory Kealey, Linda Kealey, Bettina Bradbury, Gerald Friesen, Bruce
Magnuson, Jim McKenzie, Rick Stow, Peter Newell, Adam Buick, Jesse
Mihlik, Helen Rawson, Larry Tickner, Archie Green, Don Watson, Ross
McCormack, Joan Sangster, the late George Rawlyk, Allen Seager,
Nancy Forestell, Norman Penner, the late Al Bernhardt, and Daniel
Goldstick. To William Rab I can only say that I hope I did justice to Bill.
Many thanks go out to Don Akenson and the staff at McGill-Queen's
Press for their encouragement and support. The two Joans - Harcourt
and McGilvray - have been especially helpful, patient, and persevering.