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Re-imagining Confederation: Moving Beyond the Trudeau-Lévesque Debate*
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 November 2009
Abstract
The Trudeau-Lévesque debate has created a political deadlock that threatens not only Confederation but federalism as well. At the core of the political deadlock is a philosophical dispute about language, in which liberty is set against community, and particularism becomes opposed to universalism. Not only does the Trudeau-Lévesque deadlock presuppose an antagonism between basic values that is difficult to justify, but it has also diverted attention from important dimensions of Canadian federalism. An exploration of the Trudeau-Lévesque debate provides insights as to how the deadlock can be dissolved, thereby facilitating the re-imagination of Confederation.
Résumé
Le débat Trudeau-Lévesque a créé une impasse politique qui menace non seulement la Confédération, mais également le fédéralisme lui-même. Au coeur de l'impasse politique on retrouve une discussion philosophique du problème linguistique, dans laquelle liberté s'oppose à la communauté, et le particularisme à l'universalisme. Outre le fait qu'elle présuppose un conflit entre les valeurs fondamentales qui est difficile à justifier, l'impasse Trudeau-Lévesque a détourné l'attention d'autres aspects plus importants du fédéralisme canadien. Cet examen approfondi du débat Trudeau-Lévesque contribue des aperçus qui permettront de sortir de cette impasse, rendant ainsi plus facile la réimagination de la Confédération.
- Type
- Research Article
- Information
- Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 26 , Issue 4 , December 1993 , pp. 699 - 720
- Copyright
- Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association (l'Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 1993
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