The Decline of Deference : Canadian Value Change in Cross National Perspective

Since the 1980's Canadians have experienced turmoil on an unprecedented scale and on a variety of fronts. Constitutional battles pitted citizen against citizen and publics against leaders. Vigorous new interest groups challenged governments to respond to new issues like the environment, gay rights, and equality for women. In the face of expanding trade relations Canadians mobilized to respond to economic uncertainty, and family relations were exposed to new stresses. What explains the turmoil? In this extraordinarily wide-ranging book, Neil Nevitte demonstrates that the changing patterns of Canadian values are connected. Changing attitudes to authority in the family are connected to changing attitudes to the work-place and to politics and they all point to one theme--the decline of deference. Canada's turmoil is not unique, nor is it a result of the ""Americanization"" of Canadian values. Canada, he argues is but one stage on which the rhythms of post-industrial value change are played out. Table of Contents 7 Figures and Tables 11 Preface 17 PART I. SETTING THE STAGE 21 1. A Decade of Turmoil 21 2. Setting the Stage 39 PART II. POLITICAL VALUE CHANGE 69 3. A Changing Political Culture? 69 4. Changing Patterns of Political Participation 95 PART III. ECONOMIC VALUE CHANGE 133 5. Changing Economic Cultures? 133 6. A Changing Work Culture? 177 PART IV. PRIMARY RELATIONS 227 7. Moral Outlooks 227 8. Family Values: Stability and Change 263 PART V. CONCLUSIONS 305 9. Patterns of Change 305 Appendix. World Values Survey 339 Index 387