The idea of political unity - or belonging - contains its own opposite, because a political community can never guarantee the equal status of all its members. The price of belonging is an entrenched social stratification and hierarchy within the political unit itself.

Lived Fictions explores how the notion of political unity generates a collective commitment to imagining the structure of Canadian society. These political imaginaries - the citizen-state, the market economy, and so forth - are lived fictions. They orient our national identity and shape our understanding of political legitimacy, responsibility, and action. John Grant persuasively details why the project of political unity fails: it distorts our lived experiences and allows inequality and domination to take root.

Canada promises unity through democratic politics, reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, a welfare state that protects the vulnerable, and a multicultural approach to cultural relations. This book documents the historical failure of these promises and elaborates the kinds of radical institutional and intellectual changes needed to overcome our lived fictions.

About the Author
John Grant is an assistant professor of political science at King's University College at Western University. He is the author of Dialectics and Contemporary Politics: Critique and Transformation from Hegel through Post-Marxism (2011).

Reviews
In this book, John Grant accomplishes several achievements, any of which would be impressive on their own. -- David Laycock, professor, political science, Simon Fraser University * Contemporary Political Theory *
[Grant's] analysis brilliantly redefines the boundaries of scholarly interrogation on questions of belonging and inequality. -- Thirstan Falconer, St. Jerome's University * British Journal of Canadian Studies, Vol. 33.1 *



Book Information
ISBN 9780774836470
Author John Grant
Format Hardback
Page Count 304
Imprint University of British Columbia Press
Publisher University of British Columbia Press
Weight(grams) 570g