In his introduction to this provocative collection of essays, George Woodcock describes his response to a recent question about national unity. I remarked impatiently that what interested me was not the achievement of ‘national unity, but the accomplishment of creative anti-national disunity.

Woodcock argues that if Canadians are angry about their alienation from the political decision-making process, it is because, in Canada, geography has conspired with history to develop a whole series of local traditions that gain by their mingling, yet must retain their separateness for their mingling to be meaningful.

The eight essays in this collection reveal how Canada’s political practices betray its true life as a society. They argue for Native self-government, municipal autonomy, and consider the enormous importance of transportation and communications to a true participatory democracy. The book concludes with an inspiring essay on how basic changes in our approach to our society can be achieved.