Alvin Finkel

Compassion traces the ways in which various societies across the globe have responded to the vulnerable among them from early human history to the present. Along the way, Alvin Finkel assesses the impacts of economic developments, colonialism, political arrangements, gender, race, and social class in influencing how different peoples have defined the rights of individuals and communities facing hardship. From Russia to Iran, from Scandinavia to Vietnam, this book looks at how social policy has been shaped by global social forces such as capitalism, imperialism and neoliberalism and analyses why different countries and regions diverged in their ways of dealing with inequalities and social needs. This is a valuable resource for students on history, sociology or social work degrees taking modules or courses on the history of welfare/social policy or global history.

Compassion traces the ways in which various societies across the globe have responded to the vulnerable among them from early human history to the present. Along the way, Alvin Finkel assesses the impacts of economic developments, colonialism, political arrangements, gender, race, and social class in influencing how different peoples have defined the rights of individuals and communities facing hardship. From Russia to Iran, from Scandinavia to Vietnam, this book looks at how social policy has been shaped by global social forces such as capitalism, imperialism and neoliberalism and analyses why different countries and regions diverged in their ways of dealing with inequalities and social needs. This is a valuable resource for students on history, sociology or social work degrees taking modules or courses on the history of welfare/social policy or global history.

Working People in Alberta traces the history of labour inAlberta from the period of First Nations occupation to the present.Drawing on over two hundred interviews with labour leaders, activists,and ordinary working people, as well as on archival records, the volumegives voice to the people who have toiled in Alberta over thecenturies. In so doing, it seeks to counter the view of Alberta as aone-class, one-party, one-ideology province, in which distinctionsbetween those who work and those who own are irrelevant. Workers fromacross the generations tell another tale, of an ongoing collectivestruggle to improve their economic and social circumstances in the faceof a dominant, exploitative elite. Their stories are set within asequential analysis of provincial politics and economics, supplementedby chapters on women and the labour movement and on minority workers ofcolour and their quest for social justice. Published on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the AlbertaFederation of Labour, Working People in Alberta contrasts thestories of workers who were union members and those who were not. Inits depictions of union organizing drives, strikes, and working-classlife in cities and towns, this lavishly illustrated volume creates acomposite portrait of the men and women who have worked to build andsustain the province of Alberta.

The West and Beyond evaluates and appraises the state ofWestern Canadian history, acknowledging and assessing the contributionsof historians of the past and present while showcasing the researchinterests of a new generation of scholars. It charts new directions forthe future and stimulates further interrogations of our past. This collection encourages dialogue among the generations ofhistorians of the West and among practitioners of diverse approaches tothe past. It also reflects a broad range of disciplinary andprofessional boundaries, suggesting a number of different ways tounderstand the west.

Social Policy and Practice in Canada: A History traces the history of social policy in Canada from the period of First Nations' control to the present day, exploring the various ways in which residents of the area known today as Canada have organized themselves to deal with (or to ignore) the needs of the ill, the poor, the elderly, and the young. This book is the first synthesis on social policy in Canada to provide a critical perspective on the evolution of social policy in the country. While earlier work has treated each new social program as a major advance, and reacted with shock to neoliberalism's attack on social programs, Alvin Finkel demonstrates that right-wing and left-wing forces have always battled to shape social policy in Canada. He argues that the notion of a welfare state consensus in the period after 1945 is misleading, and that the social programs developed before the neoliberal counteroffensive were far less radical than they are sometimes depicted. Social Policy and Practice in Canada: A History begins by exploring the non-state mechanisms employed by First Nations to insure the well-being of their members. It then deals with the role of the Church in New France and of voluntary organizations in British North America in helping the unfortunate. After examining why voluntary organizations gradually gave way to state-controlled programs, the book assesses the evolution of social policy in Canada in a variety of areas, including health care, treatment of the elderly, child care, housing, and poverty.

Few parties in political history have had such a swift metamorphosis from one end of the political spectrum to the other as did the Social Credit Party of Alberta. Between its establishment in the 1930s and the defeat of the Social Credit government in 1971, the party changed from a movement-based reformist organization to a cliquish, religious-oriented outfit whose main purpose was to hold the levers of power. In this account of the Social Credit transformation, Alvin Finkel challenges earlier works which focus purely on Social Credit monetary fixations and religiosity. He argues that the early party is best seen as a coalition of reformers, including working-class social democrats, the unemployed, small business owners, and farmers placed in jeopardy by the Depression. In its first term of office, Social Credit was perceived as on the left, opposed in the 1940 provincial election by a right-wing coalition. During the later Aberhart years, and especially after Ernest Manning’s accession to the premiership, Social Credit switched its fire from bankers to socialists and the party’s rhetoric became extremely right-wing. Manning opposed, on ideological grounds, most of the social programs introduced by federal government after 1945. Though patronage was rife, most Albertans regarded Social Credit as righteous because of the leadership of Manning, a radio evangelist. Only Manning’s departure from the political scene began the slow process of decay of the governing party.